Akash Deep’s meteoric rise: a perfect rags-to-riches folk tale

Akash Deep has already been at the top of his game that has seen him being a part of some electric action with a handful of decent spells against paragons of the sport. He has been absolutely bang on his money, pulling off those ecstatic toe-crushers that has so far hurt the batters by a good deal.

On the latest episode of RCB Bold Diaries, he was seen speaking at length about how everything fell in place. It was a story that starred probably every single emotion that a human being goes through. There were struggles, there were desperations, there were frustrations and most importantly, there was hope at the end of the tunnel.

Akash talked about the initial difficulties where he said, “Playing cricket in Bihar was extremely difficult as parents would be downright livid at the mere mention of the sport. It was almost akin to committing a crime in Bihar as the sport was deemed as a lost cause. There was love and excitement in us to play the game but I never thought that it can actually be a career for me.”

He further added, “It was the connection that I felt with the game after which I couldn’t simply keep myself away. Infrastructure for the game is still absent in the place where I come from and the struggles are persistent.”

Akash then spoke about his shifting journey from Bihar to Bengal, “When my dad retired, he was paralysed, a shocker that would confine him to bed for five years. Barring me, there was no else at my home to take care of him. Prior to that I had been to Kolkata once but his health became so broke, that every 2-3 months, he had to be taken to the hospital. From my place, the nearest hospital is 150 kilometers.”

He continued, “I come from a remote village and there is a dearth of medical facilities there. As I was staying in the city, every single time I would get a call in 2-3 days where I was told that my father was sick. I lost my father in 2015 and then in quick succession, I lost my elder brother too. That is when I realized that there was nothing left for me at home. It is better for me to try and move out and pursue cricket.”

The story concluded on a happy note as he said, “In 2016, I shifted to Delhi where my sister lived. I practiced there for a couple of months when a friend of mine in Kolkata asked me to come down as he talked about me with a first-division club. The first year itself was excellent for me as I managed to claim a lot of crucial scalps from the matches that I got to play for the clubs.”