Akash

Deep

Akash Deep Biography and Career

Bengal's Akash Deep is one of the many cricketers in India who left their hometown due to lack of opportunities and moved elsewhere to pursue cricket. Hailing from Dehri village in Sasaram, Akash Deep moved to Durgapur, West Bengal in 2010 to join a local cricket club. It took him little to no time to make a name for himself in local cricket with his raw pace. 

In 2015, Akash faced a huge personal tragedy when he lost both his father and brother within a space of six months. To support his family, he started playing tennis-ball cricket matches, earning around Rs 6000 per day. 

"My father and my brother died within six months. I had nothing to lose, and the motivation was that I had to take care of the family. I would play proper leather-ball matches for my club, but initially there was no money. So three to four days a month, I would play tennis-ball matches around the district and earn Rs 6000 per day. So I would earn 20,000 per month, which helped me run my expenses," Akash recalled in an interview. 

Initially a batsman, he transitioned to fast bowling as he grew taller. After years of toiling hard, Akash made his Twenty20 debut for Bengal in the 2018-19 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, List A debut in 2018-2019 Vijay Hazare Trophy, and his first-class debut in the Ranji Trophy later that same year. In only his second first-class match, Akash took six wickets against Gujarat. He finished the season with 35 wickets at an average of 18.02, helping Bengal reach the Ranji Trophy final.

A right-arm fast-medium bowler known for his ability to generate movement off the pitch and bowl with aggression, Akash was included in the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) squad for the second phase of the 2021 IPL in the UAE. He made his IPL debut in 2022, representing RCB. 

In his debut season, the bowler played five games and picked up as many wickets. In IPL 2023, he could play only two games, and he played just one game in IPL 2024 before being released by RCB. For IPL 2025, he was picked by the Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 8 crore. 

He did exceptionally well in domestic cricket in 2023. He picked up a total of 41 wickets in the Ranji Trophy that year, including a 10-for against Haryana and a five-for in the semi-final against Madhya Pradesh. 

Akash's biggest moment, however, came in early 2024 when he received his maiden Test callup for the last three Tests against England in India. He took three wickets in his opening spell, including the scalps of Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, and Zak Crawley. He has, since, played seven Tests for India as of February 2025. 

He is no mug with the bat. In the 2021/22 Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Jharkhand, Akash scored an 18-ball 50. More recently, in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025, when India needed 33 runs to avoid a follow-on, Akash scored a 27 not out off 32 balls at The Gabba. 

Beyond cricket 

Estimates of Akash Deep's net worth vary across sources but he has accumulated a wealth of around Rs 37 crore. A significant portion of Akash Deep's income stems from his professional cricket contracts with the Bengal team and IPL teams. 

Akash is the youngest of six siblings. He has three elder sisters, an elder brother, and another elder brother, Dhiraj, who has passed away. 

Akash Deep Records

Akash Deep Test cricket 

Second-highest score for an Indian No. 11 against Australia (2024): achieved in the third Test of BGT 2024-2025 in Brisbane with an unbeaten 27.