Akash Deep’s sister reacts to Edgbaston heroics

When Akash Deep sent England’s top order crashing at Edgbaston with a spell to remember, cricket fans across the country erupted in celebration. But in a quiet home in Lucknow, one person watched with eyes wet and heart full. It was his elder sister, Jyoti Singh. Battling stage 3 intestine cancer and undergoing chemotherapy, Jyoti was taken by surprise when his brother dedicated the Edgbaston Test to her.

“I wasn’t expecting him to speak about me,” Jyoti told Mid-day, “but when he said this [achievement] was for me, I felt so good. This is his biggest achievement. And this came at a time when I truly needed something to hold on to.”

Career-changing Test for Akash Deep?

Akash’s 10-wicket haul (10/187) is now etched as the best figures by an Indian pacer in England. But for Jyoti, those wickets meant more. As she fights through 12 exhausting rounds of chemo, two already completed, her brother’s heartfelt tribute brought a kind of healing the best medicine can’t always offer.

She watched every ball with her mother, Laduma Devi, who’s known more sorrow than most, having lost both her husband and elder son years ago. “We saw the match on TV. We were all so elated,” she said.