The journey of Akashdeep is no less than an inspiring, emotional, and non-stop work of hard labor. A perfect script that we’ve seen in movies, where the main character went from nothing to everything. His deceptive and lethal bowling dismantled England’s batting line-up from top to bottom.
He played a pivotal role in India‘s first-ever win at Edgbaston cricket stadium by a mammoth 336 runs. He accomplished in 8 matches what Bumrah, Shami, and Siraj could not in 148 test matches combined. Akashdeep is the 2nd Indian pacer to take 10-fer (10/187) after Chetan Sharma (10/188) and the first to reach that milestone overall since Umesh’s 10-fer.
Backstory of Akashdeep’s Career
Go back to his initial days, when he was playing in the streets of Bihar. His father was against it, due to financial problems, and he wanted him to focus on studies. He lost both his father and elder brother in close succession. Now, he has to take care of his sisters and mother. He left cricket for 3 years.
As they say, dreams never die. He moved to West Bengal to pursue his dream, but for his mother, he was there for work purposes. His hard work and passion earned him a place in the Bengal team for the Ranji Trophy, and he consistently performed well. He was playing with one of the greats of Indian bowling, Md Shami.
In his debut year, 2019, he took a 6-fer in his second match against Gujarat. He bagged 35 wickets in a season at an average of 18 and played a crucial role in Bengal’s run to the final.
Turning Point of Akashdeep’s career
The biggest turning point of his life was when Royal Challengers Bangalore picked him in the auction of 2022. Since then, his cricketing journey has never turned back and has only gone upwards. He was not a consistent part of RCB’s squad and played for LSG this year for 8 crore.
He came in the light of Indian fans in February, where he debuted against England in Ranchi and annihilated the opposition’s top order. Doing that in Indian conditions required serious talent and skills, and he has all of it.
Highlights of his career
He retained his spot for the home test season against Bangladesh and New Zealand, and also on the plane to Australia for BGT. He was in and out of the squad and does not get many chances. Whenever he was in the team, he contributed with the bat too.
Remember the six he hit to Pat Cummins after avoiding the follow-on, that was a gutsy shot to play, and no one can forget his and Bumrah’s defiant partnership that later drew the test.
Picture abhi baaki hai
He etched his name in the history books for his memorable and valiant bowling against England. It is the beginning of his career. He proved himself and showed the world that he can bowl on flat pitches, sunny days, with the same intensity and fieriness.
He stood up when the team needed a hero to save them. Without Bumrah, Siraj was alone taking wickets and keeping the opposition under pressure. He puts his hand up and takes a maiden 5-fer and a 10-fer. He became the only bowler after legendary Michael Holding who took the most no. of wickets (4) in an innings without fielding assistance.
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He perfectly fits into the Indian scheme of things. It’s a declaration now that he could be the final piece of the Pacers’ puzzle that Indian cricket is looking for after Shami since 2023.
Annsly Raena 
Baishali Karmakar