New Delhi: Bowling in subcontinental conditions where spinners are expected to call the shots is one thing, but doing so in Australia is quite another, India pacer Akash Deep realised on his maiden tour away from home.
Prior to the Border-Gavaskar series, the 28-year-old had played for India only in known conditions that made bowling in bouncy conditions DOwn Under a different propostion.
“Before Australia, I had played only in India and in India, fast bowlers don’t have that kind of pressure as we know that we have world-class spinners in operation, who will get the opposition out,” Akash Deep told PTI.
“But when you bowl for lengthy periods in overseas conditions, you tend to learn more about your own bowling, you understand how the pitch is behaving and what you need to do in specific situations. As a fast bowler, I feel that I have improved having bowled in these conditions.”
In seven Tests, the Bengal pacer has taken 15 wickets before a stiff back ruled him out of the fifth and final Test of the BGT in Sydney. He is now awaiting instructions to resume bowling after getting healed.
“My recovery is on course and since I had been playing non-stop cricket for a considerable period of time, I was advised to off-load (complete rest) for 15 days. I am following the advice of NCA and once they instruct me to start bowling, I will do so.”
‘Learnt a lot from Bumrah’
The right-arm seamer claimed five wickets in the five matches but was unlucky not to have claimed more due to dropped catches after being told bowl consistently on one line.
Dropping Marnus Labuschagne off his bowling in the fourth Test in Melbourne proved significantly costly as India lost the Test match despite putting Australia under pressure.
“…no one drops catches intentionally and these things do happen but I did feel a little bad that if that catch would have been held and they could have been dismissed for 130 odd, may be we would have won in Melbourne,” he said.
“Coming into Sydney, we would have been 2-1 up and Australia would have been under pressure. I don’t think that apart from India, other teams have been able to give them a decent fight consistently in recent years.”
Being a pace bowling collegaue of Jasprit Bumrah has his perks of getting an opportunity to learn from the best, and Akash Deep is lapping it the experience.
“…you can learn a lot from what he is doing and what I should be doing from the other end. There are little things that he (Bumrah) kept on telling me and it became easier for me to operate.”
“Rohit bhaiyya had a lot of trust in me that I can take wickets anytime, ‘Woh bolte hai hai ki mujhko lagta hai tum har ball pe wicket le sakte ho’ (You can take wickets with every delivery),” he said.
“I would be given a brief that in case I am not getting wickets, I should do the holding job at one end, slow down the game and run-flow so that things are under control.
“My endeavour was to maintain discipline, bowl in good areas and wait for the batter to make a mistake…doesn’t matter if the ball is new, semi-new or old.”
India pacer Akash Deep has claimed 15 wickets in seven Tests so far and spoke about his experience of bowling in bouncy Australian conditions during the Border-Gavaskar series. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
