Left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma made his debut for Madhya Pradesh at the age of 18, but it took him six years to establish himself in the first-class setup. His best tally came in 2015-16 season, where he picked up 33 wickets, including a career-best of 13 for 108 against Andhra to help Madhya Pradesh qualify for the knockouts.

Despite his growing first-class credentials, Ankit has largely been seen as a limited-overs specialist, and has been a part of Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. At the auction in February 2016, he was signed up for his base price of INR 10 lakh by Rising Pune Supergiants.