One can sense the disappointment Akash Deep went through for not being able to bowl on an extremely spicy wicket in Sydney. The pacer had to be ruled out of the just-concluded fifth and final Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground owing to a back problem.

Set to return home on Wednesday, Akash is slated to head to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru thereafter for recovery. For a month, he won't be having any game time.

But, it's the game time that the 28-year-old needs most to develop himself into a future hope for the Indian team.

Quite a few in the Indian cricket fraternity were surprised not to find Akash in the Indian XI for the Perth and Adelaide Tests. Brought into the side in fellow quick Harshit Rana's place in Brisbane for the third Test followed by the fourth in Melbourne, Akash might not have been magnificent with the ball but did persevere for wickets.

His perseverance and grit were noticed with the bat too in Brisbane when he contributed 31 in the 47-run last-wicket partnership with Jasprit Bumrah to save India the follow-on. The huge six he struck over mid-wicket off Australia skipper Pat Cummins in the very next ball after saving the follow-on also became one of the talking points of the series.

On his part, Akash would certainly have loved to finish with better figures than just five wickets from two Test appearances on his maiden Australia tour. That would have happened with some luck. At least in the second innings in Melbourne, Akash wouldn't have finished wicketless had Yashasvi Jaiswal not spilt a relatively easy chance at slip to let Marnus Labuschagne off.

"In Melbourne, he was sometimes pitching it either too short or too fall. Besides, given his age, if he's in and out (of the XI) at his age, that could go on to be a deterrent," a BCCI official told The Telegraph on Monday.

"And then, he has a dodgy back which has been troubling him even before his Bengal debut (in 2019). That's also another thing he has to look after."

However, for a cricketer who has had success and been consistent with the red ball in domestic cricket, one feels Akash will use his Australia tour experience as a learning and return sharper, particularly if selected for the England Tests beginning in June.

"Initially, he was bowling back-of-a-length. But then, he didn't take much time to find the right length: that six to eight-metre length which makes the batter think whether to play on the front or back foot," Bengal U-19 head coach Sourasish Lahiri, having worked with Akash since the latter's Bengal U-23 days, said.

"With his fast arm action, he bowled the stock ball (the one coming into the batter) quite well, troubling Steve Smith at the MCG. Yes, there were several plays and misses off his bowling. But this helps to boost your perseverance and makes you mentally stronger. He will learn that in Test cricket, you get nothing on a platter."