ICC Urged To Sanction India Star Akash Deep Over Controversial 5th Test Act
Ben Duckett's coach has urged the ICC to sanction Akash Deep over his act involving the England opener in the Oval Test.
- Akash Deep's close interaction with Ben Duckett in 5th Test sparked controversy
- Duckett's coach James Knott said that Akash should be sanctioned by the ICC for the act
- Duckett scored 462 runs at an average of 51.33 and strike-rate of 82.94 in the series
The highly competitive Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy ended with both England and India sharing a point each. Over the course of 25 days of cricketing action, it wasn't just a clash between bat and ball that was on display, but also egos. Though the players tried hard not to mix sporting battles and personal duels, the thin line did become blurry on a few occasions. One of the most talked-about incidents took place in the 5th Test at the Kennington Oval, where India pacer Akash Deep got 'too close to comfort' with England batter Ben Duckett.
Akash put a hand around Duckett's shoulders after dismissing him and uttered a few words. The incident even prompted KL Rahul to intervene and drag Akash out of committing a bigger mistake. While no ICC sanction was announced for Akash, Duckett's coach feels that the India pacer should be penalised.
"It was part of a competitive series, but certainly needs a sanction to discourage youngsters. At the same time, it doesn't bother me personally," said Duckett's coach James Knott in a chat with the Times of India.
Duckett scored 462 runs in the series with an average of 51.33 and a strike-rate of 82.94. Even as England snubbed their attacking approach in the latter part of the series, Duckett new only one mode, which is to play offensive. The England opener's coach shed light on the characteristics that make him special.
"Often people say that he is maybe too laid back, but Duckett is very competitive when he is out in the middle, as you saw during the recent Test series. Shubman Gill told me he enjoyed the challenge when Duckett was at the crease.
He is short, left-handed, scores square of the wicket, sweeps both sides in multiple areas. In that sense, Duckett is not only a hard man to bowl at but very different to a lot of other players out there. Think of Gill, for example, who is a much more orthodox player," stated Knott. "When I first saw Duckett, he already had the reverse sweep and the switch hit but we added the orthodox sweep. He was always one of the smallest for his age but just hit the ball harder than most of them. The biggest thing he learnt during under-14 or under-15 level cricket was that he doesn't necessarily have the power to clear the boundary. So he had to learn to keep the ball down, which he still does," added the English cricketer's coach.
"There were instances where we had to discipline him at school level although there weren't too many of them to be honest. Duckett was benched for a few matches as per our code of conduct. He took that well and came back more mature which helped shape his character. There were times where an arm around the shoulder was needed and others where a kick up the backside was necessary. Duckett was a single young man when he was battling low points in his life. Now he's got a young child and is getting married. Those sort of things give you a bit more perspective in life," stated Knott.
India Cricket Team
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