IPL 2018: MS Dhoni's Wicket was a Big Thing for Me - Mayank Markande

The young leg-spinner from Mumbai Indians (MI), Mayank Markande had done wonders in his debut season in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Although Mumbai failed to qualify for the playoffs, Mayank left a long-lasting impression.

However, the 20-year old Markande, one of the finds for Mumbai this season is still half awake from his dream. But the “never give up” attitude he imbibed from the MI camp is going to serve him forever.

Mumbai stormed back from the worst start to finish fifth in the points table, and that’s where Markande’s syllabus lies. He was confident Mumbai would come back stronger admitting it was not their season.

“It was disappointing for all of us as we had given our 100 percent. I guess it was not meant to be this season, but MI will never give up. I have learnt that approach from the team. We are a strong team and we will be back,” he mentions to Sportstar.

Markande, who didn’t expect to be part of playing XI for the first game had a cracker of a debut against Chennai Super Kings.

He removed Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, and Deepak Chahar to return with three for 23. In the next game, he bettered his performance claiming a four-for against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Mumbai lost both the games, but Markande became a superstar. Overall, the wrist spinner returned with 15 wickets in 14 league games.

Dhoni’s wicket was a big thing

Markande gave a lot of credit to the support staffs for his success. He also admitted a lot of homework was done for MS Dhoni’s wicket.

 “There was a strategy discussed for every player in the team meetings, and I just tried to execute my plans that day. Mahi bhai’s wicket was a big thing for me,” he added.

Meanwhile, most of his wickets came from googly’s, and Mayank feels it is his natural weapon. The leg-spinner from Punjab also admitted the Mumbai cap mattered the most and didn’t think about the Purple Cap.

“I never thought of the Purple Cap in the season. It was the Mumbai Indians cap that mattered most from day one. Purple Cap will come and go, but I wanted to retain the Mumbai cap,” he concluded.

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