Sunday was a happy day for Indian fast bowler Akash Deep as he was selected in the Indian team squad for the Test series against Bangladesh. Due to Mohammed Shami’s injury, one spot was vacant and Akash left no stone unturned to get the selectors’ attention to get that spot.

Akash Deep performed brilliantly in the first match of the Duleep Trophy and made a strong case for selection in the team by taking nine wickets. He took 9 wickets for 116 runs in his spell for India A against India B. The highlights of Akash’s spell were the wickets of Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar.

When asked to choose his favourite wicket in the match, Akash said

“The deliveries I bowled to Nitish Reddy (in the first innings) and Washington Sundar (in the second innings) were excellent. I have been bowling a lot to him (Washington) round the wicket in the nets. He has been batting a lot against me and he has got used to it. So I wanted to do something that I had not done against him before.”

Mohammed Shami helped Akash Deep

Akash Deep also revealed that Mohammed Shami helped him a lot. Akash told that he wanted to bring the ball back towards the left-handed batsmen, for which he took advice from Shami. Shami advised him to avoid focusing too much on this technique and told that this skill will develop naturally with time.

Aakash said, “When you bowl to a left-handed batsman from round the wicket, the ball naturally moves in the direction of shine. I asked Shami how to bring the ball back (with the angle), because I have seen him doing it.”

“He advised me not to focus too much on bringing the ball in. He said that over time this skill will develop on its own, and when it does, it will become a wicket-taking ball. If the ball constantly goes outside and then you manage to bring it in with shine, it will become extremely difficult for the batsmen. But Shami also advised me not to try it again and again, as it can affect the naturalness of bowling.”

Akash Deep made his debut for India in the Test series against England. He played one Test and took an impressive 3/83 in the first innings.