'You won't be hitting …': Akash Deep on Ben Duckett send-off, why Oval fifty tops Edgbaston 10-wicket haul

LUCKNOW: India pacer Akash Deep has been spending quality time with his family after a fruitful tour of England. On Saturday, he also paid a visit to Lucknow to meet his sisters on the occasion of Rakshabandhan. Despite his busy schedule, Akash Deep took time out to talk to TOI on his experiences of the long English tour.

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Opening up on the controversy involving Ben Duckett during the Oval Test, Akash Deep revealed that he told Duckett that he won't be the only one to hit and he would hit too. Akash Deep gave a sendoff to the England opener by putting his hand around his shoulder and uttering a few words to him after dismissing him. The images went viral.



"On a cricket field, you need to keep a cool head. I told Duckett, 'You won't be the only one hitting; I'll hit too. Sometimes you miss, and I hit'."

Akash Deep said that Duckett had told him that he would not be able to dismiss him and whatever he said to Duckett was in response. “It was quite a good experience. Every pace bowler wants to play in England. Although the wickets were not as we had expected, we still put our heart and soul into every match to end the hard-fought series on even terms. The series was a great learning for me.”

"Taking ten wickets individually in a match (at Edgbaston, which India won) is quite significant but scoring a half century for the team was more important to me. While I was working on my half-century, the only thing on my mind was not to get out and to keep playing," he added.



Asked about dedicating his 10-wicket match haul in the second Test at Birmingham to his elder sister who is suffering from cancer, he said, "My message was not just for my sister; it was for the entire country and the world, emphasizing the importance of standing by loved ones during difficult times."

On the final day of the last Test at the Oval, Akash Deep remembers, "I woke up early due to excitement, knowing we needed four wickets, and England wanted just 35 runs, and that only we three pacers had to do it. But we believed in ourselves, and the England batters apparently panicked. We didn't know the ball would start swinging in the morning, but once it did, we realized the wickets would fall quickly, and that's what happened."

On his partner in attack, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep said, "As a fast bowler, he is fit, and the way he puts in effort behind the ball sets him apart. Playing five consecutive matches is commendable. From this, one learns that being mentally fit is more important than being physically fit."

Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!