Sourav Ganguly sir has always motivated me through calls and messages: Akash Deep

Indian pacer Akash Deep has revealed that he finds constant support and motivation from the former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly through calls and messages. He also revealed Dada’s simple advice, which helped him a lot. 

For the unversed, Deep was recently part of the England Test tour, picking up 13 wickets from six innings, playing a crucial role in the Birmingham Test. He was recently part of the Irani Cup, scalping three wickets in the first innings.

"Sourav sir (Ganguly) has always motivated me through calls and messages. He tells simple things like focusing on the process and hard work instead of worrying about the results,” Akash said in the media interaction.

Bengal ended as runners-up in the Ranji Trophy 2019-20 season and 2022-23 edition, losing to Saurashtra on both instances. Speaking on the same, Akash revealed that his biggest dream is to win the Ranji Trophy for Bengal.

"Who can understand this pain more than me? Coming so close twice and failing to lift the trophy, so that pain is there in my heart. My biggest dream is to win the Ranji Trophy for Bengal. People love cricket a lot here and respect the players. So, we should win the trophy for them,” he stated.

"The level of domestic cricket in India has gone up significantly. There is more pressure in domestic cricket as you have to be very disciplined," He added.

Moreover, the Bengal squad will also feature Mohammed Shami this time around. Akash Deep is eager to learn tips and tricks from the veteran pacer in the Ranji Trophy season. Bengal will take on Uttarakhand in an Elite Group C clash, starting on October 15 in Kolkata.

"It will be my first opportunity to play with Shami bhai. I've not had an experience of playing with him. This is my first chance, so I will get to know how it feels once I play with him. You get to learn a lot of things when you play with such an accomplished player. From how he prepares to the efforts he puts in, I will get to learn a lot of things from him."

Bengal Ranji Trophy 2025-26 squad:

Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Abishek Porel (vc/wk), Sudip Kumar Gharami, Anustup Majumdar, Sudip Chatterjee, Sumanta Gupta, Saurabh Kumar Singh, Vishal Bhati, Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Ishan Porel, Kazi Junaid Saifi, Rahul Prasad, Sumit Mohanta, Vikash Singh.

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