“Why didn’t you tell Siraj to bowl outside the off stump so that you could take five wickets?”
That’s what Bengal team-mate Shreevats Goswami jokingly asked Akash Deep after the first innings of the second England versus India Test.
“No, no, whatever the team requires, we have to do that,” Deep replied.
The right-arm pacer, who had featured in just seven Tests for India before, eventually claimed a five-wicket haul in the second innings, helping India seal an impressive win.
Deep stepped up in style, even earning praise from England captain Ben Stokes for “his ability to use and change his angles consistently and still be so accurate”.