Rookie Indian pacer Akash Deep has recalled Rohit Sharma's encouraging words during his Test debut earlier this year when he got a wicket off a no-ball. The right-arm seamer revealed that Rohit urged him to move forward from this incident and concentrate on the next delivery.
The incident had occurred during the fourth over of the innings during the Ranchi Test against England. The 27-year-old had sent Zak Crawley's off-stump cartwheeling, but he had overstepped, depriving him of a wicket. Akash still picked up three scalps.
Speaking to The Times of India, the rookie bowler reflected that what made him feel worse was that Crawley had belted 19 runs almost immediately after his no ball.
"I didn't feel bad at all when I took a wicket that was given as a no ball. What made me feel worse was that Zak Crawley hammered Siraj for 19 runs after two overs. I felt bad because my no ball allowed him to score those runs. Rohit bhaiya came forward and motivated me after that no ball. He said, 'Aage badh, hota rehta hai.' He asked me to leave that no ball behind and move forward. But as a bowler, you don't forget such incidents."
"I didn’t ask for it" - Akash Deep on receiving bat from Virat Kohli
Recalling the moment of receiving bat from Virat Kohli, Akash Deep stated that it was the 35-year-old who approached him for the same and explained:
"Virat bhaiya ne khud se bat diya tha (Virat bhaiya himself gave me the bat). He must have observed something about my batting. I didn’t ask for it; he came to me and asked, ‘Bat chaiye kya tujhe?’ Who wouldn’t want a bat from Virat Bhaiya? He is a legend. I was very happy to hear his words and wanted that bat. He asked me what kind of bat I use while batting, and I just smiled—I didn’t have words. Then he said, ‘Yeh le, rakh le yeh bat."
