If you get satisfied as cricketer, you’ll never learn anything: Akash Deep

Bengaluru: A nine-wicket match haul usually leaves a bowler on cloud nine, but for India pacer Akash Deep it’s a mere reminder of the areas he needs to improve upon ahead of a hectic season.

Akash produced a wonderful effort for India A against India B in the just-concluded Duleep Trophy first round match, returning with figures of 4 for 60 and 5 for 56 here.

“If you get satisfied as a cricketer, you will never learn anything. As long as I have the hunger for learning, I can never be satisfied,” Akash told reporters after the match on Sunday.

“Wickets and results are two different things; sometimes you will get the result, sometimes not. But, the most important thing is the process…like while bowling, which are the areas that can still be improved upon,” he added.

Akash, who made his Test debut against England at Ranchi earlier this year, returned to the red-ball format after a considerable gap, but the Bengal man said he was preparing in his own way for the season.

“After my India debut in Ranchi and the IPL, I did not play any competitive match. It’s tough to play a game as a pacer after such a long gap, but I have been practicing since last month.

“We were playing the practice matches as actual games. So, we had that mindset to get our muscles used to that sort of bowling, and it helped me a lot,” he noted.

With India scheduled to play 10 Tests this season, Akash’s effort in Duleep Trophy has surely placed him high on the pecking order to support Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.