Lucknow: His match-winning 10-wicket haul against England on Sunday made him India’s latest cricket hero. But it was only after paceman Akash Deep bared his heart about his elder sister suffering from cancer that the world learnt how his finest hour also came in a time of emotional distress.At her residence in Lucknow, sister Akhand Jyoti Singh, 36, beams with joy even though she looks frail. “Akash was playing for Lucknow SuperGiants in IPL 2025 when I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a knot in my intestines that required surgery. Akash used to visit me in hospital every day after finishing his practice. He has been so worried about me,” she told TOI .
Jyoti, who was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer in April 2025, lives in Lucknow with her husband who works for a public bank.Every time I had the ball in my hand, her thoughts would cross my mind,” said an emotionally overwhelmed Akash Deep, dedicating his performance at Edgbaston to his sister. “I want to tell her, ‘Sis, we are all with you’,” he told cricketer-turned-TV commentator Cheteshwar Pujara after the match.Akash Deep had lost his father, a school teacher, and his elder brother within a span of months, years before he made his Test debut in July 2024.“My father was a teacher and wanted Akash to study hard and excel, but my brother was only interested in cricket. He would inform us before leaving for tournaments and borrow money from us, which he would return after winning. Since the Bihar cricket board had been banned from Ranji Trophy at that time, Akash moved to Bengal, where he managed his own expenses by playing local matches,” Jyoti said.Akash Deep’s mother Ladoma Devi said her son has displayed exemplary courage in face of numerous personal tragedies that the family has been through, but he always managed to gather himself and be on the cricket pitch every day of his life.On Sunday, the family watched the match on TV and were pleased with Akash’s performance.“He bowled with the same prowess that he had displayed during his debut match in Ranchi, where he succeeded in taking three wickets. After the match, he called us up and I told him to play like this and make the country proud,” Ladoma Devi said.
