I learnt a lot from MS Dhoni as a cricketer: Ankit Sharma

Madhya Pradesh all-rounder, Ankit Sharma who made it to the Rajasthan Royals squad in the IPL 2018 auction credited his coach and family for their support throughout his career. He had an exceptional domestic season this time around and stood tall for his team.

The left-hander was key to Madhya Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy knockout qualification. However, Ankit has lauded the dedication of the former India captain MS Dhoni and believes that he has learnt from the veteran during his stint with Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) last year.

Ankit made his first-class debut at 18 and has also been part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2012. The youngster had a stellar Ranji season with both bat and ball as he scored 376 runs at an amazing average of 41.77 in seven matches and also went on to scalp 19 wickets. He took the same confidence into the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy which followed and bowled economically which helped his team keep a lid on the run-scoring of the opposition.

The left-arm spinner was picked by Rajasthan Royals in the recently concluded auction for his base price of Rs 20 Lakhs. He has played for the franchise before in his earlier stints and would look to perform well for them this time around.

Preparation for the season

Sharma, while speaking exclusively to CricTracker, explained the way he prepared for the domestic season. He also credited the team management for making him aware of his role and expectations from him during the tournament.

“I worked on my batting skills especially as it was conveyed to me that I will be promoted to bat at number 6 or 7. As a cricketer you also need to be mentally prepared because while batting at 6 or 7 you might have to face the new ball and the coaches had trained me well according to that before the start of the season,” the 26-year-old said.

On MS Dhoni

Hewas with the Super Giant last season and was all praise for veteran MS Dhoni after rubbing the shoulders with him on the field. He also went on to say that spending time with the legend in the dressing room helped him improve as a cricketer.

“Experience playing with MS was amazing as you can learn a lot from him. The way he approaches the big games and his attitude during the practice sessions was brilliant. He handles the situations of the game calmly and as a young cricketer you have so much to pick there,” Ankit continued.

Guidance from coach

The left-arm spinner also said that his family supported him a lot during the tough times in his career and also backed him when he decided to take up cricket as a career. He credited Harvinder Singh Sodhi the Madhya Pradesh coach, who helped in finetune his batting skills during the season.

“Coaches are always there to guide you throughout the career. During the Ranji Trophy season, our coach helped me a lot regarding gauging the bounce of the wicket as we also batted on the red soil this time. So his guidance played a key role in my improved performance as well,” the all-rounder said.

Ankit Sharma concluded by saying that he is willing to continue in the same vein as an all-rounder in the season ahead and is keen to do well for his team again with both bat and ball and most importantly maintain his fitness which is the key to a modern-day cricketers success.

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