‘Every ball was a prayer’: Akash Deep dedicates 10-wicket haul at Edgbaston to sister battling cancer

Edgbaston: In a stirring display of courage and love, Indian pacer Akash Deep has dedicated his record-breaking performance in India’s historic Test win at Edgbaston to his elder sister, who has been battling cancer for the past two months.

The 27-year-old seamer, who ripped through England’s batting line-up to claim 10 wickets for 187 runs, opened his heart moments after the victory, revealing for the first time the personal turmoil he has been quietly enduring.

“I have not told this to anyone,” Akash confessed to Sony Sports. “My elder sister has been suffering from cancer. She is stable now, and I think she will be the happiest seeing my performance. I just wanted to see a smile on her face. This match is for her.”

Fighting back emotion, he added, “This is for you. Whenever I held the ball, your face was in my mind. We are all with you.”

Akash Deep’s remarkable feat not only handed India their first-ever Test triumph at the iconic Edgbaston ground but also broke a 38-year-old Indian bowling record in England, surpassing Chetan Sharma’s 10/188 from 1986. He also became just the second Indian pacer to take a 10-wicket match haul on English soil.

The pacer’s journey to this moment has been anything but easy. Before joining the squad in England, Akash had spent weeks in hospital corridors, supporting his sister through her treatment. Each delivery he sent down at Edgbaston, he said, carried a silent prayer for her recovery.

Behind the record books and the headlines lay a brother’s simple hope: to bring a moment of joy to his sister’s fight. “Every ball I bowled was for her,” Akash said quietly. “I just wanted to see her smile.”