“I will not be able to get him out” - Akash Deep reveals his conversation with Ben Duckett before his send-off

Indian pacer Akash Deep has opened up on the send-off he gave to the English opening batter Ben Duckett in the first innings of the Oval Test in the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England.

Moving into the details of the incident, Duckett was playing unorthodox shots, taking England’s score to 92 runs in 13 overs without losing any wickets. While India was keen to eye a breakthrough, Akash was handed the ball as he had a decent record against Duckett.

Eventually, the Indian seamer managed to grab his wicket. However, he celebrated the wicket by putting his hand over Duckett’s shoulder, which didn’t go down well with many in the cricketing fraternity.

Akash was pulled away by KL Rahul quickly before the umpire intervened to have a word with him. Akash, during his exclusive conversation with RevSportz, has now revealed what exactly happened between the duo. 

“I have a good record against Duckett and have got him out a few times. I have always fancied my chances against the left-handers and he is no different. On that day, he was trying to throw me off my line and length and had played a number of unconventional shots. That’s when he said to me that it was his day and I will not be able to get him out,” Akash told RevSportz.

“The truth is, if a batter moves around the pitch and plays these shots, your line and length does get impacted, for you don’t really know what he will do next. That’s what was happening. Also, England were off to a quick start and we needed a wicket,” he added.

“We were defending a modest score and wickets were critical. When I got him out (smiles), I said to him: ‘You miss, I hit. Not always will you win. This time, I win’. It was a continuation of what he was saying to me, and it was all done in good spirit,” said Akash.

England eventually managed to get only a 23-run lead in the first innings as they staged a major collapse after the top-order's heroics. Ultimately, India went on to win the game by six runs and leveled the series 2-2.

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