During the Lucknow Super Giants’ victory over Chennai Super Kings, pacer Akash Singh attracted attention with his unusual celebration. He took a piece of paper out of his pocket after a wicket, a move he claimed was intended to “motivate” himself and “assert dominance” over batters.
After each of the three wickets he claimed in LSG’s seven-wicket victory over CSK, the left-arm pacer produced a tattered piece of paper that said, “Akki on fire — Akash knows how to take wickets in T20 cricket.”
The 24-year-old, who started his IPL career with the Rajasthan Royals and participated in the Chennai Super Kings’ 2023 championship campaign before joining the Lucknow Super Giants, recorded his best IPL stats on Friday with 3/26.
“‘Akki knows how to take wickets in T20 cricket’, right?” Akash responded when asked about the statement on the piece of paper, saying that it gives him motivation and helps him concentrate on controlling batters and giving the squad better performances.
“Different things motivate different people. Some days I show the paper, some days I don’t, but it reflects my mindset on that particular day. When you carry a piece of paper with something written on it, you manifest things and the most important part is when those manifestations actually materialise,” PTI quoted Akash as saying.
Akash, who is from Bharatpur, Rajasthan, claimed that his development as a cricketer over the past two years has been greatly aided by the Lucknow Super Giants support personnel.
“I’ve been with LSG for two years and the most important thing has been the backing from the coaches, even when I’m not in the playing XI. This year we have Bharat Arun sir, last year Zaheer sir was there…Tom Moody. The way they guide us, prepare us and keep us ready for opportunities is very important when there are 25 players in the squad,” he said.
“When you are not playing, you naturally seek backing and every player wants to make the most of the opportunities he gets. The support from the captain also matters a lot and with Rishabh bhaiya backing you, the confidence grows and you are able to perform better,” Akash said, referring to Rishabh Pant.
Before the match against CSK, Akash claimed that Pant had urged him to have faith in his abilities.
“He told me that the new ball is my strength and that I can swing it both ways. So I just tried to make the best use of my skills. The wicket also had good bounce, so I focused on using the bouncer effectively,” added Akash.
Regarding his performance against CSK, Akash claimed that his IPL experience since 2020—including a stint with CSK—helped him better understand the opposing hitters and that his outstanding spell was mostly due to his ability to support his own abilities with the ball.
“Obviously, when you play in the IPL and have shared the dressing room with some players, you understand their strengths and weaknesses. My focus was first to back my own strengths, then exploit their weaknesses and also make the best use of what the wicket was offering,” Akash said.
After been urged to “be ready” several times during the past two or three games, Akash claimed to have sensed that an opportunity may present itself. However, he acknowledged that it was regrettable that he was not given one sooner.
“Two days before the match, during practice, I was told to be ready,” he said.
Akash clarified that he had not been holding the piece of paper in expectation, adding that he frequently jots down ideas that could help him get better.
“Whenever I’m alone or about to sleep, any thought that comes to my mind which can help my cricket, I write it down. The other night I got this thought and jotted it down on paper,” he added.
