"Bumrah bhai advised me to..." - Akash Deep's special statement after his heroics on debut

India pacer Akash Deep opened up about his impressive outing with the ball during Day 1 of the ongoing fourth Test against England in Ranchi. He said that he wasn’t nervous about his debut and also revealed the advice he got from Jasprit Bumrah.

Akash Deep had a dream debut for India in the Test as he bowled sensationally well with the new ball and wreaked havoc across the England top order. He bowled impeccable lines and lengths with new ball as batters had no answers to the carnage by him.

Akash Deep, who has been putting in hard yards in the domestic circuit, finally got the reward for his hard work as he was handed the debut cap. He played in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and made sure that the team didn’t miss the premier pacer in what has been the virtual series decider.

Akash Deep drew the first blood for his team he removed Ben Duckett with a jaffa. The ball caught the outside edge and was caught by the keeper easily. If this was not enough, he then trapped Ollie Pope in a lbw. The fast bowler sent England’s No.3 for a two-ball duck.

Akash Deep then chipped in again quickly and sent Zak Crawley packing with a peach. The fast bowler castled the stumps of the batter. It was a more of redemption wicket for him as he had earlier sent the batter packing but that turned out to be a no-ball.

Akash Deep admitted that he wasn’t tensed ahead of the game. He while talking about his debut, claimed that Jasprit Bumrah advised him to drag the length back slightly and that is what he did. Speaking to broadcasters, he explained:

“I wasn’t nervous, had spoken with my coaches, so I wasn’t tense ahead of the game. I don’t know how it happened, but I used to take every game as my last game and tried my best. Bumrah bhai advised me to drag the length back slightly (in international cricket), that’s exactly what I did.”

I felt bad on the no-ball – Akash Deep on no-ball wicket

Akash Deep further talked about the wicket of Zak Crawley that he got on the no-ball. He said that he felt bad because he was thinking that it might prove costly. He also talked about his plans, saying that he wanted to be as tight as possible and bowl in the right areas. He added:

“I felt bad (on the no-ball), I was just hoping that the team doesn’t lose because of that (since Crawley was batting well). There was a bit of help early on, but the ball became soft and the wicket was slow as well. We just tried to be as tight as possible and bowl in the right areas.”

Akash Deep was impressive in his second spell as well. The pacer bowled tight lines and made sure that he didn’t give away runs. On Day 1, he was the pick of the bowlers for the team with his figures of 3/70. He would be hoping to add more wickets to his tally on Day 2.