Ankit Singh Rajpoot is an Indian first-class cricketer who plays for Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket and Kings XI Punjab in the IPL. Born on 4th December 1993, the right arm fast medium pacer who is well known for making his debut for Chennai Super Kings and against Mumbai Indians and dismissed Ricky Ponting in his very first over.
Ankit Rajpoot made his debut during the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy. He picked 31 wickets in 7 matches in that season at an average of 18. This figure was the second best for his side which featured the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Imtiaz Ahmed. During UP's successful campaign in the 2016 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India's domestic T20 competition, Rajpoot was the tournament's third-highest wicket-taker with 14 wickets at an average of 14.21. In July 2018, he was named in the squad for India Green for the 2018–19 Duleep Trophy. In December 2018, he was named in India's team for the 2018 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup. In August 2019, he was named in the India Green team's squad for the 2019–20 Duleep Trophy.
Ankit's performance in the domestic tournament earned him the place in Stephen Fleming’s Chennai Super Kings the following season. He made an instant impact as he claimed the wicket of Ricky Ponting in his very first over and finished the match with respectable figures of 1/25 from 3 overs.
After making an impact in his first match, his form fizzled out as the season progressed. He lost his place to Mohit Sharma. He was then released by Chennai Super Kings the following season after failing to break into the eleven at the first-class level in domestic cricket.
After impressing everybody in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Anki Rajpoot got a contract with Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2016 season. He spent 2 seasons there. Virender Sehwag's Kings XI Punjab later secured his service in the 2018 season after shelling out 3 crores for the youngster. He had a very encouraging IPL season, even picking up a 5-wicket haul against Sunrisers Hyderabad. For the 2020 season, he was picked up by Rajasthan Royals.
While still very young, seamer Ankit Rajpoot, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, was rated highly by former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad who was the state's bowling coach for two seasons. Ankit Rajpoot along with his wife Maahi Singh have appeared on Gionee’s ‘Kouple Goals'.
