Exclusive: Akash Deep’s Secret Weapon? He Might Just Be a Centurion-in-Waiting

India's pace bowling has faced quite a few challenges in the ongoing five-match Test series against England. With Jasprit Bumrah only available for three matches, the onus was entirely left to Mohammed Siraj. 

However, Akash Deep stepped up in style, especially in the second match at Birmingham, where he picked up a 10-wicket haul to help India win its only match in the series so far.

He though couldn't do much in the third match and missed the fourth one due to an injury. Now he is back for the final game and will play an important role for India as the conditions are quite favourable for him at the Oval.

Akash Deep's secret skill

While we all saw what Akash could do with the ball, there is something that almost no one knows about him. What is it? 

"His batting ability is something people don't know about him. He is somebody who can get a hundred while batting. If he plays for three-four years consistently, he might get a hundred. He could do what Ashwin has done for India," Shreevats Goswami, his Bengal teammate, told SportsBoom.com.

Akash Deep's childhood friend, Vaibhav Kumar, who has helped him reach where he is today, also shared some incidents of Akash's batting abilities.

"He used to bat quite well and hit huge sixes. You can ask anyone who has seen him in the early days, and they will tell you. He opened the batting and not just once or twice; there have been many occasions when he has hit six sixes in an over. He used to bat like AB de Villiers in tennis cricket. He can still bat and make big runs," Vaibhav told SportsBoom.com in an exclusive interview.

Akash was also known for his speed earlier on, especially in the tennis-ball cricket.

"He would bowl so fast that people couldn't believe; many would say, 'Is he chucking?' because it just didn't seem possible to bowl that fast with a tennis ball," Vaibhav recalled.

Humble Beginnings

Akash comes from a small village in Bihar and had to move to Bengal to pursue his cricket dream. He had to face a lot of struggles before making it.

"We had never even thought he would make it this big. He lost his father and brother within a span of six months, then had to do a lot of hard work himself to make sure his family was fed," Vaibhav added. 

Even in Bengal, it wasn't easy for him to make it work.

"He once invited me to his village. I stayed with him at his house. We took a train journey and he spoke about his struggles. He started with tennis cricket, struggled to even get a place into Bengal's club cricket," Shreevats Goswami, a former cricketer, said.

"He asked quite a few clubs for entry, but he was told that they don't admit players like an academy. Then he finally gave trials in a club. He didn't even have proper shoes. The coach there found that he was quick and nippy, so he signed him. Thereafter, he didn't look back," he concluded.