New Delhi: Indian pacer Akash Deep, whose 10-wicket haul was instrumental in India’s first test victory – and that too a massive one – at Edgbaston on Sunday, dedicated his performance to his sister Akhand Jyoti Singh, a cancer patient.
“Maine kisi ko bataya nahi (I haven’t told anyone about this). My elder sister is suffering from cancer. It was diagnosed two months ago. She is okay right now. She is stable. She would be so happy with my performance. She has gone through so much mentally in the last two months. I dedicate my performance to her,” an emotional Akash Deep told Cheteshwar Pujara in a post-match interview to JioHotstar.
“Just wanted to give her happiness with my performance. Behen yeh tumare liye hai. (This is for you.) Whenever I held the ball. I was just thinking about you as your face was popping up throughout. I just wanted to give you happiness. We are all with you,” Akash Deep added.
Akhand Jyoti, meanwhile, said that she had told her brother not to worry about her health and focus on playing for the country instead. She said that she was extremely happy with Akash’s performance, which brought joy to the entire family in tricky times.
Akhand Jyoti revealed that her cancer was in its third stage and that she needed six more months of treatment.
“It is a matter of pride for India – he has taken 10 wickets. Before the England tour, we went to meet him at the airport. I told him, ‘I’m absolutely fine, don’t worry about me, just do well for the country.’ I am in the third stage (of cancer), and the doctor has said the treatment will go on for six more months, after which we’ll see,” Akash Deep’s sister said in an exclusive interview to India Today.
“It makes me very happy when Akash takes wickets. Whenever he gets a wicket, all of us start clapping and cheering so loudly that the neighbours in the colony ask what has happened!” she laughed.
Jyoti revealed that the news that she was suffering from cancer was not public knowledge, and she did not know that Akash had already revealed the information.
“I had no idea Akash would say something like that. Maybe we weren’t ready to talk about it publicly, but the way he became emotional and said it for me- dedicating it to me – it’s a big deal. It shows how much he loves our family and me. Given the situation at home, and still performing like that and taking wickets there, it’s a huge thing. I’m the one he is closest to,” she said.
“After the match ended, we spoke twice over video call, and again at 5 a.m. in the morning. Akash told me, ‘Don’t worry, the whole country is with us.’ He said, ‘I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I had been trying to, but yesterday I just couldn’t stop myself’,” she told Aaj Tak.
“Such a brother is rare. He helps us a lot and doesn’t do anything without talking to us. He shares everything with the family. Since our father and eldest brother are no longer with us, he is the one now managing the whole household,” Akhand Jyoti added.