Akash Deep 100 per cent fit and ready ahead of LSG-MI clash

It will be a battle of two underperforming units as LSG and MI, both having won just one out of their three matches, play at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. This match could mark the return to Akash Deep, who played two Tests in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year and faced an injury ahead of the fifth Test at Sydney. He joined the LSG camp on April 2, two days ahead of the match.

"I feel the first match is very important for me. I have played one practice match, but in cricket when you get a two to three-month gap, no matter how much you practice, till you do not play a match, the confidence does not build," Akash Deep said at the pre-match presser, according to ESPNCricinfo.

Akash's last T20 match was for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) during the IPL 2024 back in April. He has played eight matches for the franchise since 2022 till last year, getting seven wickets. This is his only T20 match in the last year and a half, having played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy from October to November 2023. He was released by RCB ahead of the 2024 Mega Auction and brought into the LSG fold for Rs eight crores.

"The jersey changes but the player remains the same and I am really enjoying my time with this franchise. I have not been with the team for long because of injury, but I feel quite confident," Akash said.

"As an individual, you should believe in your process and focus on that process. The easier you keep your game, the easier it gets to perform. For this type of tournament, staying confident becomes very important for a player," he added.

LSG's patchy start to IPL 2025 under new skipper Rishabh Pant, which saw them lose to Delhi Capitals in the opener, beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) before losing to PBKS at home is due to injuries to fast bowlers.

Mohsin Khan, a promising young pacer, was ruled out of the competition and Shardul Thakur was brought in as a replacement. Mayank Yadav's recovery from a lumbar stress injury has been delayed by a toe injury and other pacers include Avesh Khan and Prince Yadav.

Akash backed the pace attack, saying that performance is not often in the team's control and there is still a long way to go.

"In cricket, the performance is not often in our control as a team. We have only played three matches and the IPL is a long tournament and in these three matches, we have seen a lot of positives. Despite four fast bowlers being injured, the way we performed in the first match, I thought it was great. The tournament is long and the best is yet to come," he said.

Akash is also excited to play under Indian pace legend and mentor Zaheer Khan, saying, "I feel lucky that I am playing under such a big coach, that too for two months. He is such an experienced bowler that he will be able to figure out what improvements I need. As a fast bowler, you cannot change too many things but the smaller technical nuances can be done. He can help me with those."

Squads: Mumbai Indians Squad: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton(w), Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Ashwani Kumar, Vignesh Puthur, Corbin Bosch, Raj Bawa, Robin Minz, Satyanarayana Raju, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Karn Sharma, Reece Topley, Bevon Jacobs, Krishnan Shrijith, Arjun Tendulkar

Lucknow Super Giants Squad: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi, Manimaran Siddharth, Prince Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Himmat Singh, Akash Maharaj Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Aryan Juyal, RS Hangargekar, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Akash Deep, Mayank Yadav, Shamar Joseph, Arshin Kulkarni.

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