"I don't know what happened to bhaiya, he himself came and gave me the bat" - Akash Deep on hitting sixes with Virat Kohli's bat in IND-BAN 2nd Test
Team India pacer Akash Deep has disclosed that Virat Kohli himself gave him the bat with which the seamer struck a couple of sixes in India's first innings of the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur. He added that the modern batting great jokingly asked him to return the bat when he told him that he was getting the 'cover drive feel' from it.
Deep smashed 12 runs off five deliveries in India's first-innings total of 285 for nine declared. Rohit Sharma and company eventually registered a seven-wicket win on Tuesday, October 1, to seal the two-match series 2-0.
During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Deep was asked how difficult it was to get the bat from Kohli.
"It was difficult, but I don't know what happened to bhaiya, he himself came and gave me the bat, and asked me to play. I don't know where he might have seen me bat. So it became very easy," he responded.
The Indian pacer was further asked whether he needs to return the willow.
"I told him that I am getting the cover drive feel from it, and he asked me to give it back. I asked him whether he would take the bat back and he said 'No'," Akash Deep replied.
Apart from the two lusty blows, Deep scalped three crucial wickets during the Kanpur Test. He dismissed Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam to give India their first two breakthroughs in Bangladesh's first innings and got rid of Islam again in the second essay.
"Virat gave him his bat, so he automatically got form as well" - Abhishek Nayar on Akash Deep's batting
![Akash Deep has struck more sixes than fours in first-class cricket. [P/C: BCCI]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/10/585f7-17277789134739-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same discussion, Abhishek Nayar was asked what he has been telling Akash Deep as he is hitting massive sixes.
"Virat gave him his bat, so he automatically got form as well. He actually impressed us a lot in the nets. There was a discussion in the first match about whether we should send (Jasprit) Bumrah or Akash Deep," he responded.
India's assistant coach added that it was Rohit Sharma's decision to send Deep ahead of Jasprit Bumrah in the first Test.
"However, Rohit asked us to send Akash Deep because he was coming after scoring runs in the Duleep Trophy as well, so he is our in-form player. We have now put pressure on him that he needs to score a fifty this year in the lower order. So with bat, probably an upcoming all-rounder," Nayar observed.
Deep scored 17 runs off 30 deliveries, including four boundaries, in India's first innings of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai. Before the first Test, he had smashed a 42-ball 43 in the Duleep Trophy game in a losing cause for India-A, inclusive of four sixes and three fours.