The Bengal-Andhra Ranji Trophy game in 2019-20 was ruined by rain. But the little bit of action that took place was enough to gauge the skills of a 23-year-old pace bowler. Akash Deep, a promising cricketer, bowled zestful spells. More importantly, he put on a fine exhibition of his different weapons in those few spells.
As Hanuma Vihari, Andhra’s captain, faced up to Deep, the first point to observe was the skiddy nature of his bowling. And he blended it with zooming almost everything at the stumps on a wicket that was staying low. These two traits seemed to definitely trouble Vihari. When a batter who has played for the country is having some issues in negotiating the opponent’s offerings, then it is worth keeping an eye on his potential.
Almost five years later, Deep has already played five Tests for the country and is in contention to play the pink-ball game in Adelaide. If he plays, those above-mentioned features could just help him to make regular incisions. For starters, the pink ball seems to skid a little more than the red ball. The extra layer of lacquer is one of the key reasons behind this particular characteristic.
Deep’s grip is also a part of his impressive quiver. That his wrist is cocked and right behind the ball is a given. If you take a microscopic view of his bowling, then perhaps the wrist is not exactly in a sloping position. Basically, more of a straight-seam grip.
Logically, if Deep doesn’t get much movement in the air, then he is set to hit the seam more often than not with the grip. And that should translate into nifty movement off the deck. This aspect of his bowling could make him quite useful with the pink ball, especially during the twilight period and under lights. Deep is also very good at bowling from round the wicket to left-hand batters. He has the ability to angle the ball in and then for it to occasionally straighten or nip away. It’s just the kind of delivery that could leave Travis Head, India’s nemesis, searching for answers.
There are still a couple of caveats in relation to Deep’s bowling methods. His tendency to attack the stumps and bowl fuller in length needn’t be a part of the template for Australian conditions. With the slips coming into play a lot more in Australia, alongside Deep slotting in as the third seamer behind Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj, he might have to tweak both his lines and lengths a little bit, especially in the first innings.
With a lethal cocktail of movement and skiddy pace, Deep has the necessary skill set to make an impact in the pink-ball Test. So, the Indian management might be in two minds about whether to select Harshit Rana or Deep.