I think of every match as my last, says Akash Deep

Priorities: Akash said his focus is on the process.
| Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR

There is an uncanny similarity to Mohammed Shami in the way Akash Deep bowls — the action, the seam position and the compact follow-through.

With Shami continuing to be unavailable because of an ankle injury, 27-year-old Akash, who made his Test debut against England in Ranchi in February, was named in India’s squad for the first Test against Bangladesh starting in Chennai on September 19.

It turns out that Akash, who plays for Bengal, has indeed received pearls of wisdom from his statemate Shami, especially on getting the ball to move either way from the same spot.

This was evident in his dismissals of Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy in the Duleep Trophy opener here, where both batters saw their off-stumps disturbed with first-rate deliveries.

“When you bowl to a left-hander from around the wicket, the ball naturally moves away because of the shine,” explained Akash, who finished with a match haul of nine wickets (four for 60 & five for 56). “I spoke to him [Shami] about how to get the ball to come back in.”

“He advised me not to focus too much on it and that it will automatically come over time and when it does, it will become a wicket-taking ball. Because, if it keeps going out and then you are able to bring it back in, it’s tough for batters.”

What Akash did was all the more impressive because, in the time since the England Test, he had played just one competitive match — the IPL fixture for Royal Challengers Bengaluru versus Mumbai Indians in April.

“As a fast bowler, it’s difficult to come back [after such a long period],” he said. “I was at the NCA for a month and played a lot of practice games thinking they were real matches.

“I think of every match as my last. I don’t think too far ahead. As a player, the moment you’re satisfied, you won’t learn. Getting wickets and the final result are two different things. But the process is important, like the ball that I want to bowl, the areas that can still be improved upon,” he added.