IND vs ENG - Dream debut for Akash Deep as he replaces Jasprit Bumrah, fans await spectacle

Akash Deep almost got the wicket of Zak Crawley, as he was clean bowled, but later it was found to be a no-ball.

Akash Deep

What a dream debut it is for pacer Akash Deep, who received his cap from Indian coach Rahul Dravid for the 4th Test against England in Ranchi. The bowler is replacing Jasprit Bumrah in the squad, who has been rested after bowling 80.5 overs across the first three Tests. Deep almost got the wicket of Zak Crawley, as he was clean bowled, but later it was found to be a no-ball.

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Akash Deep's stellar performance, claiming 12 wickets across three matches against the England Lions, gave him an edge over Mukesh Kumar, who didn't look his best in Visakhapatnam.

Seeing him receive the debut cap even got netizens praising the lad as they shared his humble background and struggles to make it to the Indian squad. Many even shared pictures of him hugging his family soon after receiving the debut cap and receiving congratulations from his teammates.

In this series, India introduced four debutants: Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, and Akash Deep. The last time India saw such a high number of debutants in a home series was against South Africa in 2000, featuring Murali Kartik, Wasim Jaffer, Mohammad Kaif, and Nikhil Chopra.

Regarding the match, England has won the toss and elected to bat. Rehan Ahmed has departed from the tour due to personal reasons and will not be rejoining. A replacement for him has not been announced yet.

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Skipper Rohit Sharma, at the toss, said, "We would have batted first as well. Looks a bit dry and has some cracks, but that's the nature of the pitch here. The last two games were good for us and we'll have to play in the same way. Proud of a lot of young guys in the squad, they've taken the responsibility and have taken the challenge head-on. They are confident in their skills, and moving forward it's a good thing. One change with Akash Deep making his debut".

Teams:

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj

England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Tom Hartley, Ollie Robinson, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson

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