3 reasons why India picking Akash Deep for last 3 England tests is the right move
Bengal pacer Akash Deep has received a maiden Test call-up for the remaining Tests in the ongoing five-match series after his impressive show for India A against the England Lions.
The BCCI has announced the squad for the last three Tests as Virat Kohli is out of the series due to personal reasons, while Shreyas Iyer will miss due to an injury.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul, who missed the second Test due to their respective injuries, have been renamed in the squad. However, their participation will be subjected to fitness clearance.
While every selection was on the expected lines, the inclusion of Akash Deep, as usual, divided fans and experts into two opinions.
In this article, we will discuss how Akash Deep's selection on the test side makes complete sense and is the right move from the selectors and management.
#3 India needs more pace bowling resources
With the famed Indian pace quartet of Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Umesh Yadav getting separated due to injuries, out of form, and other reasons, Indian Test set-up needs options to replace them not only overseas but also at home.
One might say that Bumrah is still out there doing Bumrah's usual freakish things, but in the absence of Shami, he needs support from other pacers. Mohammed Siraj blows more cold than hot on pitches that are not suitable for his style of bowling.
#2 Tried-off pacers have been off-radar
Recently, India has tried many options in pace bowling since 2022, with Jaydev Unadkat, T Natrajan, Prasidh Krishna, and Mukesh Kumar being some of the names making the cut to the highest level.
Indian fast bowlers took 506 wickets at an average of 23.96 in the 2018–22 period, with fast bowlers from no other Test team averaging as low as that in this period.
Following 2022, Indian pacers average 32.64 in 18 matches played so far, with Bumrah taking almost one-third of wickets at an average of 15.60.
The others have not been impressive, and that leaves too much pressure on the injury-prone leader of the pack in Bumrah.
This opens up a spot for Akash Deep, who has not only been impressive in first-class cricket, where he has scalped 103 wickets in 29 matches at an average of 23.18 but was also pretty impressive against the England Lions, where he picked up 13 wickets in five innings.
Akash Deep can also contribute in the lower order, a trait the Indian team has been looking for a very long time.
#1 Akash Deep possesses skills that India is looking for
When you look at Akash Deep bowling, one might think of him as a medium pacer, but he possesses a quick arm twist, which makes the ball skid through and hurry the batter off the deck.
It takes a bit of time for a batter to adjust while facing him, with Akash being more deceptive than a batsman anticipates.
Akash, like Mukesh Kumar, has a gift of solid seam and tends to trouble the batsmen with his stock delivery coming inwards. With Mukesh not performing to what he was expected, the management would look for a like-to-like replacement in Akash Deep in the upcoming matches in the series.