I will keep it as a souvenir on the wall of my room – Akash Deep on receiving Virat Kohli’s bat as a gift

During the latest edition of the Indian Premier League, Rinku Singh grabbed the limelight after Virat Kohli gifted him a bat. Being the iconic batter that Virat is, it is obviously a dream for anyone to lay hands on his willow. In one such recent incident, Akash Deep, his teammate at RCB, revealed that he was given a bat too by the former Indian captain and it is a very special gift for him.

Akash Deep has been on a rise in the red-ball format ever since his debut against England. After bowling a dream spell against the visitors back in January, he was once again in the thick of things as he went up against Bangladesh. In what was a seam-bowling masterclass, Akash Deep claimed the duo of Zakir Hasan and Mominul Haque with identical inswingers, leaving their stumps in waste.

Talking to Times of India, he revealed the story behind Virat Kohli gifting him the bat just before India’s first Test against Bangladesh. Akash Deep said, “He (Virat Kohli) 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.’ I will never play with that bat; it is a big gift from Virat bhaiya, and I will keep it as a souvenir on the wall of my room.”

The fast bowler has been retained in the squad for the second Test as BCCI has named the same set of players who represented India in the opening Test of the series. This is the final Test of the series following which India will be hosting New Zealand for a three-match Test series at home.