IPL stint with Mumbai Indians improved me says Markande 

What’s the story?

Mayank Markande, leg break bowler, has stated that the stint with Mumbai Indians last year helped him improve a lot.

In case you didn’t know

Mayank Markande has been picked in the Indian T20 squad which takes on Australia in a two-match series. This is the maiden Indian call up for the Mumbai Indians leg spinner who impressed everyone with his skills and temperament in the IPL last year, picking up 15 wickets from 14 matches.

The heart of the matter

Speaking about how IPL helped him, Markande said: “I had gone to the trials for Mumbai Indians and there Rahul Sanghvi sir noticed me. In fact, he was the one to call me up and tell me about the auction pick and the biggest learning for me as a bowler came after being a part of the Mumbai Indians setup. Rohit [Sharma] bhai’s presence was a confidence booster for me and there were youngsters from different parts of India and I learned a lot there.”

Markande was an unknown commodity before last year’s IPL but a dream spell of 3/23 against the Chennai Super Kings on his debut got things rolling. From there on in, Mayank never looked back and became an integral part of Mumbai Indians’ set up.

Mayank added: “In the IPL my mental skills improved, according to me, there is not much you can do in terms of improving your skills at this level. It was more reading the situations, performing well under pressure."

What’s next?

Mayank Markande has been named in the T20 squad along with Krunal Pandya and Yuzvendra Chahal as spin options and is likely to make his debut in the T20 series. With Indian tracks offering a lot of spin, it would not be a surprise if India goes in with 3 spinners.