When did Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep meet for the first time?
“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. “Whatever happens for us, it happens together. “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. For Akash, a bag of wickets in this fixture has added significance given he was coming back after a seven-month injury layoff.
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. The 29-year-old touched speeds in excess of 140kmph right through.
I don’t know what is written in our destiny,” Akash said.