Pacer Akash Deep Receives a Valuable Gift from Virat Kohli Ahead of Bangladesh Tests: See Photo

Fast bowler Akash Deep thanked ace India batter Virat Kohli for a special gift received before the first Test match against Bangladesh. The Indian cricket team is currently in Chennai gearing up for the game that begins September 19. Deep was named in the 16-man squad, announced by the BCCI last Sunday, joining the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah in the unit.

On Monday, Deep took to Instagram to share a picture of a cricket bat which was gifted to him by Kohli. Both cricketers play together for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL and now sharing the Team India dressing room for the upcoming Test match against Bangladesh.

Akash Deep is among the cricketers who have received a bat from Virat Kohli. Earlier in a video released by the RCB, batter Vijaykumar Vyshak said he asked the former India captain for a bat and scored a half-century with it. Another cricketer who asked for multiple bats from Kohli was Rinku Singh.

Deep made his Test debut against England earlier this year in Ranchi. He picked up three wickets, which included England openers Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley and number three batter Ollie Pope. He was also a part of the India A squad for the 2024 Duleep Trophy in the first round where he picked up nine wickets across two innings, including a five-wicket haul in the second essay against India B.

Team India will take on Bangladesh in a two-match Test series, starting September 19. The first Test will be played at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

India’s squad for the 1st Test of the Bangladesh Test series: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.