'Akash Deep master of swing, loves a poetic pitch'

India’s latest pace sensation Akash Deep, who ran through England's batting order at Edgbaston and bowled India to a big win, could light up any room with his voice, his dance moves and his soft corner for Urdu sher-o-shayari, his Lucknow-based brother-in-law Niteesh Kumar Singh said.

- Anupam Srivastava

Singh, an ex-serviceman, lives in the state capital with his wife, Akash Deep's sister. The new pace spearhead had dedicated his 10-wicket match haul in Birmingham to his sister who is battling cancer.

“Akash isn’t just a cricketer but a complete intellectual package,” said Singh, adding, “he's poetry in motion, whether on the pitch or at home.”

In the quiet lanes of Saraswati Puram near SGPGI, Lucknow, far from Edgbaston and the grind of Test cricket, Akash is still remembered not for his outswinger, but for the way he sang at family functions or presented poetry late into the night.

“He was only 12 when I got married into the family,” recalled Niteesh.