Akash Deep breaks silence on what he told Ben Duckett during controversial send-off: 'He said I won't get him out'

Exactly one week after the intense send-off incident at The Oval, India pacer Akash Deep has finally broken his silence, shedding light on what truly transpired between him and England opener Ben Duckett. The incident took place during Day 4 of the fifth and final Test of the series, when the pacer dismissed Duckett and proceeded to wrap his arms around the batter as the latter walked off the field. Akash Deep appeared to tell something to Duckett, who remarkably maintained his calm and didn't react to the pacer. Akash Deep gave a send-off to Ben Duckett in the fifth Test(X)

There were hostilities between the two before the send-off, too, with the duo exchanging words between deliveries. The Indian bowler has revealed that Duckett had told Akash Deep he wouldn't be able to get him out; it seemed the remark riled the Indian bowler up, particularly given his good record against Duckett.

“I have a good record against Duckett and have got him out a few times,” Akash Deep told Revsportz.

“I have always fancied my chances against the left-handers, and he is no different. On that day, he was trying to throw me off my line and length and had played a number of unconventional shots. That’s when he said to me that it was his day and I will not be able to get him out."

Akash Deep acknowledged that Duckett’s tactics initially made bowling to him challenging, but he was fired up once he finally got the breakthrough.

“The truth is, if a batter moves around the pitch and plays these shots, your line and length does get impacted, for you don’t really know what he will do next. That’s what was happening. Also, England were off to a quick start and we needed a wicket. We were defending a modest score and wickets were critical. When I got him out (smiles), I said to him: ‘You miss, I hit. Not always will you win. This time, I win’. It was a continuation of what he was saying to me, and it was all done in good spirit,” said the bowler.

A series full of on-field tensions

The clash between Akash Deep and Ben Duckett was far from an isolated incident. Tensions had been simmering since the Lord’s Test, ignited by Zak Crawley’s deliberate time-wasting on the final moments of Day 3. This tactic deeply frustrated the Indian camp, especially Shubman Gill, sparking a fierce rivalry between the two sides.

The hostility only intensified through the fourth Test and spilt beyond the boundary before the fifth with a heated confrontation between India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir and groundsman Lee Curtis.

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