You can learn a lot from MS Dhoni: Ankit Sharma

A 26-year-old Ankit Sharma will play the royal brand of cricket this time around, as the Rajasthan franchise bought him during the IPL auction in Bangalore. Ankit has 52 First-class matches to his name and has picked 118 wickets apart from scoring 1600-plus runs. He averages 32.28 with the bat an has an economy of 3.08 in the same circuit.

He was instrumental in getting Madhya Pradesh to the Ranji Trophy knock-out qualification stage. The spinner credited former Indian skipper MS Dhoni for his rise and said that he got to learn a lot from Dhoni while he was with the Rising Pune Supergiants team last season.

Ankit was prolific in the domestic circuit

Ankit was bought for INR 20 lakh and has prior experience of playing for the same franchise. The cricketer scored 376 runs at an average of 41.77 from seven games in the Ranji Trophy  this season .“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,” he said.

Dhoni handles pressure situation calmly: Ankit

Continuing his fondness for Dhoni, the youngster said that the way Dhoni stays calm under pressure situation is something to learn.

“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.

The Royals have invested wisely in Indian domestic talents, and it will be interesting to see if they can continue to impress with their young guns in the premier league.