"Didn't have a lot of confidence in Akash Deep" - Former India batter's candid admission after India's record triumph at Edgbaston

Former India batter Robin Uthappa has said that he was surprised to see Akash Deep bowl as well as he did in the Edgbaston Test against England. The 39-year-old said that he thought of the pacer as merely a new ball bowler. However, he was left impressed with the amount of movement he got off the pitch at Birmingham.

The 28-year-old took a match haul of 10-187, which played a pivotal role in the visitors winning the second Test match and squaring the five-Test series 1-1. Uthappa said on his YouTube channel:

"To be honest, I have to put my hand up and say that I was one of the guys who didn't have a lot of confidence in Akash Deep, coming into England, even though I genuinely believed that he was really unlucky in Australia. I just felt like he was more of a new ball bowler and probably would not be as effective with the old ball. But he proved all his naysayers wrong, me included. "

"I was just surprised to see him bowl so well and if he's bowling as well as he is right now, keep him going. This is the way to go. Getting the ball to wobble as much as he did, to get the ball to move as much as he did off the wicket, on that track that takes skill and you could see there was a sense of self-assuredness about Akash when he bowled in this innings," he added.

The two-time IPL winner also said that the manner in which the fast bowler celebrated at Edgbaston reflected the confidence he had in his ability.

"It felt like, just the demeanour felt like 'I got to show the world how good I am'. He took the bull by its horns and said 'lets shake this up now'. Just the way he celebrated his wickets. That for me speaks volumes about the confidence he has in his own ability and I am happy to say that I was wrong about Akash Deep," the former India batter said.

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Robin Uthappa feels India winning at Edgbaston without Jasprit Bumrah augured well for the side

A lot of talk before the Edgbaston Test revolved around whether India would or would not play Jasprit Bumrah in the match. They eventually decided to rest the 31-year-old for the game and won despite his absence.

Robin Uthappa felt that for India to win without their talismanic pacer was a good sign. He also praised the Indian fielding during the Edgbaston Test and reserved special praise for Washington Sundar for the way he dismissed Ben Stokes on Day 5.

"It augurs well for India. You got to give credit to even the conviction and the energy of the Indian team. While they were fielding, you could see that they were hungry for the win. They really wanted the win and just the way Washington Sundar bowled. That ball to Ben Stokes in the second innings, that was a peach man. What's with Ben Stokes being surprised about every time he is out? KL Rahul was so sharp, he was the only one who was going mad at slip," Uthappa said.

Shubman Gill confirmed after the win on Sunday that Bumrah will return to the playing XI for the third Test match at Lord's, starting on Thursday, July 10.