‘Two bodies, one destiny’: Mukesh, Akash savour tight bond as pair leads ROI to Irani Cup triumph

Rest of India pacers Mukesh Kumar, right, and Akash Deep celebrate with the trophy after winning the Irani Cup. | Photo Credit: IMRAN NISSAR

When did Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep meet for the first time?

Neither seems to consider that relevant to the friendship.

“Forget it. Jab bhi mile hain, gale mile hain (Whenever we have met, we have hugged each other),” Mukesh grinned after the pair starred in Rest of India’s victory over Jammu & Kashmir in the Irani Cup.

Such is the bond of two fast bowlers who have had eerily similar journeys from Bihar to the Indian team via Bengal. At the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium on Sunday, Mukesh (six for 33) and Akash (three for 25) shared nine wickets among them to bowl out J&K for 111 in the fourth innings.

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“Whatever happens for us, it happens together. I don’t know what is written in our destiny,” Akash said. “The bodies are different, but our fate is the same. That’s why it is difficult to explain. We ourselves don’t know why everything happens alike for us.”

Chasing 279 in the fourth innings, J&K started proceedings with a brisk 54-run opening stand between Qamran Iqbal and Shubham Khajuria. Left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary had lost his radar with the new ball, repeatedly erring on the shorter side against Qamran. In the need to regain control, stand-in skipper Sarfaraz Khan turned to the Bengal pair.

Akash got the better of Qamran, and opened the door for his old mate to apply the squeeze from the other end. “When we bowl together, it’s fun. We enjoy it. When something happens from my end with the ball, I tell him. And when something happens from his end, he comes and tells me. It is obvious that when we bowl, it is very difficult to make runs,” Mukesh beamed.

For Akash, a bag of wickets in this fixture has added significance given he was coming back after a seven-month injury layoff. The 29-year-old touched speeds in excess of 140kmph right through.

“My body needed a rest. God gave it to me in the form of an injury and I utilised it well. I am not putting in a lot of effort to bowl 140kmph-plus. This is the result of 6-7 months of training,” he noted.