10 Interesting facts about Ankit Sharma

Ankit Sharma is currently an emerging talent in the Indian domestic circuit. A left-arm spinner by trade, the bowler hailing from Madhya Pradesh rose to prominence in the 2015 season after toiling hard for the past 6 years. Ankit, who grabbed the limelight due to his Ranji Trophy performances, however, is regarded as a limited-overs bowler. However, this reputation has helped him take a giant leap career wise. Ankit is also a handy batsman who can contribute with useful runs in the lower-middle order.

1. Birth:

Ankit Nagendra Sharma was born on April 20, 1991, the historically significant city of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.

2. Domestic debut:

Ankit made his first-class debut for Madhya Pradesh aged 18 against Kerala at Indore in 2009.

3. Dull debut:

His debut match ended in a dull draw. Ankit did not get to take the field in the match which only lasted one inning before rain interrupted the game.

4. The glorious 2015/16 season:

After six years of grinding, Ankit Sharma eventually peaked with his performances in the 2015/16 Ranji Trophy season. He picked 33 wickets, including career-best 13/108 against Andhra Pradesh to help his team reach the knockouts.

5. Termed as a limited overs specialist:

Despite his growing credentials as a bowler in days cricket Ankit was seen as a limited overs specialist due to his bowling style.

6. Fruits of the hard work:

His performances for MP earned his an IPL contract with Deccan Chargers in the 2012 season. He played 9 matches that season.

7. Lack of opportunities next season:

Ankit moved to the newly formed Sunrisers Hyderabad next season but could manage to get only one game that season. The Hyderabad franchise then released him in the auction pool for the 2015 season.

8. Stint with Rajasthan Royals:

In 2015, Ankit was bought by Rajasthan Royals who also neglected him for most parts of the tournament using him for just three occasions on spinner friendly tracks.

9. Moment of glory:

The 37^th match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals completely belonged to Ankit Sharma. Ankit, who has a reputation of being a handy lower middle order batsman, was sent to open the innings with Australian Shane Watson. It was a successful outing for him as he weaved a 60-run first wicket stand, contributing 30 runs from 27 balls. He topped his batting performance with wickets of Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina, finishing with figures of 2/20.

10. Golden opportunity:

Ankit Sharma was signed up for his base price of INR 10 lakh by new franchise Rising Pune Supergiants which is led by India’s limited overs skipper MS Dhoni. Dhoni is known for acknowledging promising talents and this season could be his golden opportunity for him to put in some noteworthy performance and impress Dhoni.

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