Akash Deep to return in Irani Cup after nearly seven-month back layoff
Akash Deep spoke in Srinagar on Tuesday ahead of his return to competitive cricket in the Irani Cup match between Rest of India and Jammu & Kashmir at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium two days later. He told The Hindu he viewed the support available to him during a lengthy injury layoff as "blessings."
Akash recounted a string of personal hardships from his early years, including leaving his home in Bihar for West Bengal in 2010 while in his teens and the deaths of his father and elder brother in 2015, and said his elder sister was battling cancer in mid-2025. He also referenced a standout international performance in mid-2025, when he produced a match haul of 10 for 187 as India won the second Test at Edgbaston. The stress fracture in his lower back, diagnosed in March, forced him out of the game for nearly seven months and meant his last competitive appearance was for Bengal against Jammu & Kashmir in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy semifinal in February.
Describing how the injury developed, Akash said he initially felt only stiffness during a heavy domestic schedule and that problems began in the second innings of that Ranji semifinal when he felt pain in his left glute and hamstring. He recalled: "In the first innings of the semifinal, it was fine. In the second innings, I started feeling pain in my left glute and hamstring," and added that he "took two wickets in six overs in the final session of day three" before bowling a 10-over spell on the morning of day four and later having a scan at the Centre of Excellence that showed a stress fracture in the lower back.
On coping with the enforced absence, Akash said he did not become despondent because of the medical and training support available: "I take everything positively. If I am injured today, I have the Centre of Excellence, a trainer, a physio and a coach. Even when I am practising, there are four or five members from the support staff. There are so many things set up for you to succeed. These are blessings," he said in a chat with The Hindu. He added that the injury also provided his body the rest it needed after years of continuous cricket. "By God’s grace, the good thing in my case has been that I have recovered very quickly from injuries. I knew that even if it is a stress fracture, I would recover well if I followed all the processes correctly. Yes, I would have to miss some cricket. But I also felt that my body was demanding rest. I had been playing regularly for 8-9 years. I had never taken a very long break. Even when I had injuries, I had to miss cricket for a month at the most. I didn’t take it in a negative way," he said.
Akash described the role of the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in his rehabilitation, saying the staff implemented a plan about 10 days after the diagnosis and that he returned to the facility after his marriage in June to continue rehabilitation. "The people at CoE have a lot of experience. They have seen a lot of cases. Around 10 days after the injury was diagnosed, they put the entire plan and timeline in place. It has all gone accordingly. Neither I nor they missed a beat. In the initial stages, which was about rest and strengthening the core, I was going back home occasionally. But after my marriage, I was at CoE all through. If there is time on your hands, there is no better facility than CoE for practice, gym and recovery," he said.
While sidelined, Akash said he focused on the details of athletic preparation, consulting a dietitian and working on muscle training and sleep to prolong his career. "I analysed a lot about how I can spend this time productively. I started focusing on every aspect. I spoke to a dietitian about how I can improve my diet further. Things like muscle training, how much to sleep… I realised that I have to use this time well to prolong my career. I hope I don’t have to spend so much time on the sidelines again. I went into every little detail as an athlete," he said.
He also described conversations with team-mates who have dealt with back problems — Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Mayank Yadav — and said those discussions underlined the need to understand individual bodily responses. "I asked them about the things I wanted to know, but the main thing is how does your body respond. That is the main lesson I’ve learnt from these months. I learnt about how my body reacts to different things like diet, training and sleep. It is very important to read your body as an athlete. That was a big takeaway," he said.
Akash acknowledged he may have pushed himself too hard in domestic cricket after the England series and emphasised the importance of match practice as he returns. "After that England series, which was a lot of fun to play, I exerted a lot of effort in domestic cricket. I should have understood my body more," he said, and added: "My strength is bowling long spells and at a consistent spot. My focus will be on that." He warned that while practice builds fitness, game time is needed to regain the physical and mental endurance of multi-day matches: "You may have practised for 7-8 months, but a match is different. I have to get used to the rigour of playing matches. You may sustain yourself physically, but it is also about sustaining mentally for six hours for five days. That can only come from game time. So I have to get used to these things. Whenever I get a chance, I will keep myself ready to deliver."
If his comeback in the Irani Cup proceeds without complication, Akash said he will focus on earning selection for the Test tour of New Zealand scheduled in November, noting his domestic experience before his Test debut. "I had played 40-45 First Class matches by the time I played Test cricket," he said, and added: "I knew my strengths. I knew I just had to keep doing the same things that I had been doing for around four years."
