Mayank Markande single-handedly turned the game on its head against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad. His figures read 4 for 23 from four overs as SRH edged out Mumbai in a cliffhanger of a contest at home. 

Before coming to the IPL, Markande participated in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Punjab and bowled alongside Harbhajan Singh who praised his efforts on Twitter. 

Markande came into the IPL 2018 auctions as an unknown commodity and now is the purple cap holder with 7 wickets. 

Post the match he spoke about how he came into the sport and now that he is playing the IPL, how big the transition has been in his life. “Just a year back, I was seated on a couch with my mother and watching reruns from the IPL archives on TV. I always dreamt of being here and today I am here. Life can change, this is unbelievable,” Mayank Markande says hinting at his newfound glory. 

Markande kept a word on Rohit  Sharma as well who recruited him as an unknown commodity and now he is the talk of the town with his staggering performances back to back. 

“I share a great rapport with our captain,” Markande says of Rohit Sharma. “He likes to keep things simple and keeps telling me to bowl the way I would bowl for my state. He doesn’t ask me to tinker with things too much. It works well for my and I enjoy bowling under his captaincy.”

When Mumbai was bowled out for 147 in the game against SRH, it meant that the Mumbai bowlers had a task on their hands and Markande too was expected to come good. Markande didn’t disappoint. He picked up four wickets – four genuinely good deliveries, a majority being off the wrong’un that fizzed and looked unreadable. 

He brought Mumbai to the brink of a win only to end up on the losing side at the end of the game. This only leaves us to expect more from the Punjab lad after a start that he has given to the IPL and for himself. 

IPL is all about helping promise meet potential and for Markande this has served as the perfect platform to showcase his talent. In the upcoming games thus, Markande becomes the linchpin of the Mumbai attack even with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah around. 

He also spoke about the impact of Harbhajan Singh on his life so far.  Bhajji has been working with the youngster in the domestic circuit and has been helping him develop. 

“This was the first year that I had the opportunity of meeting Harbhajan Singh. He supported me a lot when I was playing List A games for Punjab. He helped me remain in a positive frame of mind throughout and would often speak to me about bowling plans. He has immense knowledge about the game and I have managed to pick a few things from him. He is a legend of the game and I would want to meet him more often and pick his brains.”

The IPL has just given Markande's career a start and for him, the sky is the limit. A potential which now needs to be channelized, Markande will surely be one of the young talents to look out for this season. From watching all the action on TV to being a part of it, Markande knows he still has a long way to go.