Akash Deep Learned About India Test Selection While At Hospital, Coach Shares Details
India's right-arm pacer Akash Deep shone in the side's second Test of the ongoing five-match series against England.
- Akash Deep reportedly came to know about his selection for England Test series while he was in hospital
- The pacer was accompanying his sister, who was in the hospital because of a 3rd stage cancer
- Akash Deep's U19 coach revealed that the pacer even hid the news of his sister's illness from him
India's right-arm pacer Akash Deep shone in the side's second Test of the ongoing five-match series against England. He was included in India's playing XI as a replacement for ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah, as the latter was rested for the game as part of workload management. Akash never let the absence of Bumrah be felt in the second game with his terrific bowling that included a six-wicket haul. After picking up a total of 10 wickets in the match in Birmingham, Akash made a shocking revelation. He said that his elder sister has been battling cancer. He spoke about it while dedicating the performance to his sister.
Saurasish Lahiri, Akash's U-19 coach and mentor, and also a former Bengal cricketer himself, has revealed that the pacer got the news of his India call-up for the England series when he was in the hospital for his sister.
Lahiri, however, said that Akash also hid the news about his sister from him too. He revealed that he too came to know about it after Akash talked about it to media after India's victory in Birmingham.
"I was really shocked. He didn't tell this big thing to anyone - not even me. I am so close to him, but he didn't share this," Lahiri told the Times of India.
"I called him after the match. I was a little unhappy with him - he used to share everything with me. Akash told me he was going through a family crisis during that phase of the IPL. In fact, he found out that he was in the India squad for the England tour while he was with his sister at the hospital, sitting by her bedside," he added.
Before the England tour, Indian pacer Akash wasn't preparing for international cricket in training camps or stadiums - he was running between hospital corridors, caring for his ailing sister.
Carrying the weight of his dreams and his sister's suffering, he stood tall, silently and bravely. Even the joy of earning a spot in the national team couldn't fully sink in because a part of his heart remained at home, with his sister, who was fighting a far bigger battle.
Following India's memorable victory over England in the second Test at Edgbaston, an emotional Akash Deep opened up about the pain he had kept hidden from the world.
(With IANS Inputs)
England Cricket Team
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