A nine-wicket match haul usually leaves a bowler on cloud nine, but for India pacer Akash Deep it’s a mere reminder of the areas he needs to improve upon ahead of a hectic season. Akash, who was included in India’s squad for the 1st Test against Bangladesh, produced a wonderful effort for India A against India B in the just-concluded Duleep Trophy first round match, returning with figures of 4 for 60 and 5 for 56. “If you get satisfied as a cricketer, you will never learn anything. As long as I have the hunger for learning, I can never be satisfied,” Akash told reporters after the match on Sunday.

“Wickets and results are two different things; sometimes you will get the result, sometimes not. But, the most important thing is the process…like while bowling, which are the areas that can still be improved upon,” he added.

Akash, who made his Test debut against England at Ranchi earlier this year, returned to the red-ball format after a considerable gap, but the Bengal man said he was preparing in his own way for the season.

“After my India debut in Ranchi and the IPL, I did not play any competitive match. It’s tough to play a game as a pacer after such a long gap, but I have been practicing since last month.

“We were playing the practice matches as actual games. So, we had that mindset to get our muscles used to that sort of bowling, and it helped me a lot,” he noted.

With India scheduled to play 10 Tests this season, Akash’s effort in Duleep Trophy has surely placed him high on the pecking order to support Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

However, Akash liked to live in the present rather than looking too far ahead.

“Every contest that I play, I consider it as my last. I don’t think too far enough. All I have is the present with me.

The 27-year-old showed immense control on both incoming and outgoing deliveries here, and he delved into it.

“When I started my career, I was an in-swing bowler. But I hurt my shoulder around two to three years ago, and I could not bowl in swings anymore.

“It is tough to live with one variation as a bowler and I began looking for options. I switched to out-swingers. And once my shoulder was back to normal, I gained total control on both variations,” he elaborated.

The ball that moved away from middle-stump line to rattle the off-stump of Nitish Reddy in India A’s first innings underlined his mastery over the away-going delivery.

Akash also remembered how senior India teammate and fellow Bengal pacer Mohammed Shami helped him with the nuances of his craft.

“I do take input from him (Shami) as our actions are pretty much similar. I asked him ‘how to move the ball out by bowling from around the wicket to a left-hander’, to which he asked me not to try for it as it would happen naturally.

“It did happen to me naturally, which then became a wicket-taking delivery. It also creates confusion in the batters’ mind, as he is used to playing the ball generally outside,” he explained.

Despite Akash’s heroics, India A succumbed to India B by 76 runs. He admitted that the batters played some wrong shots and the bowlers did not have the best preparation in place.

“We (bowlers) did not have the right planning in place. We should have kept things tighter. Our plan (today) was to play until tea, as things would have become tough in the final session.

“But we played some wrong shots in a hurry, leading to a pressure situation for us,” he said.

Wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant made his return as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for the first Test match against Bangladesh starting September 19. He will be making his return to Test cricket for India after nearly 20 months following the injuries suffered in a car accident. Rohit Sharma will be the captain while Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah were both included in the squad. Akash Deep was named in the squad while young pacer Yash Dayal earned a maiden call-up.

Having played in the second and final Test against Bangladesh at Mirpur from December 22-25, 2022, Pant had met a road accident a few days later on December 30 and made his return to top flight cricket only in IPL this year.

The 26-year-old swashbuckling batter returned to the national side in their title-winning campaign in the T20 World Cup.

NEWS- Team India’s squad for the 1st Test of the IDFC FIRST Bank Test series against Bangladesh announced.

Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep… pic.twitter.com/pQn7Ll7k3X

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 8, 2024

However, Mohammed Shami failed to make it to the Test side even though chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar had earlier expressed that the right-arm seamer was targeting a return in the first Test against Bangladesh.

India’s long Test season begins with the first of the two Tests against Bangladesh in Chennai, starting on September 19.

The second Test of the series will be played at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur from September 27 to October 1.

India and Bangladesh have played 13 Tests so far in which the former has won 11 times while two have ended in draws.

Bangladesh will enter this series having recorded a historic 2-0 win over Pakistan in the opponent’s backyard whereas it will be India’s first Test assignment since beating England 4-1 at home in January-March earlier this year.

India’s squad for the 1st Test of the Bangladesh Test series: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.

(With PTI inputs)

The Duleep Trophy has so far seen several top Indian in action. The domestic tournament is being seen as a dress rehearsal for the upcoming India vs Bangladesh Test series. The general view is that a good performance here will help in getting into the Indian cricket team that will play Bangladesh, Starting September 19. The India A vs India B is one such match which has seen stars like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Musheer Khan, Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar, Shubman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav play against each other. 

On Saturday, a delivery from India B’s Mukesh Kumar hit Akash Deep’s chest. Akash Deep has played one Test for India while Mukesh Kumar three Tests, six ODIs and 17 T20Is for India. Akash Deep looked to be in pain when the ball hit him. Mukesh immediately went and check on him after the incident. 

Real captain of India B : Rishabh Pant. pic.twitter.com/hIc6XkCnfZ

— PantMP4. (@indianspirit070) September 7, 2024

Meanwhile, former India wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya hailed Musheer Khan for his “strong mindset” and said the young batter will be an asset for Indian team in future if he maintains consistency.

Musheer impressed everyone, making a valiant 181 for India B against India A in the on-going Duleep Trophy at Bengaluru on Friday.

His innings and a 205-run alliance with Navdeep Saini for the eighth wicket helped India B come back from a precarious 94 for seven and post 321 in the first innings.

“What makes Musheer different is his mindset, which is very strong. I can’t predict the future but if he keeps on scoring runs consistently, he could be a very good option for the Indian team,” Dahiya told PTI videos.

Dahiya was in awe of Musheer’s consistency.

“The standout thing about his batting is his consistency. He started off from where he left the last season. He scored runs in the Ranji Trophy semifinal and final and then a hundred on the opening day of domestic cricket in 2024,” Dahiya said.

“Musheer started off as a left-arm spinner and eventually his transformation to batting reflects that, “Agar aap mehnat se kisi cheez ke peeche pad jaaye, shiddat se kisi cheez ke peeche pad jaaye to wo zarur milti hai (if you work hard for something, you will get it eventually”, he said.

Dahiya, who is the head coach of Purani Dilli 6 in the ongoing Delhi Premier League, said interacting with seniors like Rishabh Pant and Ishant Sharma was a learning experience for budding talents in the DPL.

“Rishabh Pant played just a match but the time he spent with boys in the hotel and in the practice motivated them.

“Ishant attended all the practice sessions and spent time with each of the boys. Unfortunately, he couldn’t play due to an injury,” he said.

“All the boys praised Rishabh and Ishant because they never let them feel inferior to them. Instead, they felt a sense of belongingness and it calmed their nerves,” he added. 

India B batter Rishabh Pant failed to score big on his return to red-ball cricket as he was dismissed for just 7 following a stunning catch by India A captain Shubman Gill during the Duleep Trophy encounter in Bengaluru on Thursday. Pant was making his return to red ball cricket after 634 days after he was seriously injured in a car accident back in 2022. However, the return was short-lived as he completely miscued a delivery from Akash Deep. The ball went high up in the air and Gill had to run backwards in order to reach it. However, the youngster was up to the challenge and he completed a brilliant catch.

Earlier, Pant warned against taking Bangladesh lightly in the upcoming two-Test series, and stressed on the need for India to keep improving themselves to stay ahead of the competition.

Bangladesh, who recently blanked Pakistan 2-0 at Rawalpindi, will face Rohit Sharma‘s side in the first Test at Chennai from September 19 before moving to Kanpur.

What a Catch! & What a Ball!

moments of brilliance in balls

Shubman Gill pulls off a stunning catch to dismiss Rishabh Pant & then Akash Deep bowls a beauty to dismiss Nithish Kumar Reddy#DuleepTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank

Follow the matchhttps://t.co/eQyu38Erb1 pic.twitter.com/80Cpgat3nF

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) September 5, 2024

India will play a total of 10 Tests within the next five months as the series against Bangladesh will be followed by three Tests against New Zealand at home in October-November before moving to Australia for the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

“Asian countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka perform well in Asian conditions because they are accustomed to the wickets,” Pant told Jio Cinema.

“As the Indian cricket team, we focus solely on our own standards and how we can improve. Regardless of the opposition, we strive to play with the same intensity and give our 100 percent every single day,” he said.

Pant said no series can be taken lightly with the margins between the teams decreasing in international cricket.

“Pressure will always be there because in international cricket, you can’t take any series lightly. The margin between winning and losing is very small, and nowadays, the gap between international teams isn’t much either,” he said.

(With PTI inputs)