Mayank Markande’s auction day story is like no other. A day before the big day, the 20-year-old leg-spinner was flying from Bangalore to Dharamsala to represent Punjab Under-23 in a BCCI tournament.

In an interview, Markande recalls the episode with fondness. “We had a game the following day, but I just couldn’t sleep that night. On match days, you are not allowed to use your phone at the ground. But when I finally switched it on in the evening, I had 37 missed calls and 300 messages. I rang up a few friends and they told me that the Mumbai Indians had picked me. I didn’t believe them. Then, I received a call from Mr Rahul Sanghvi (Team Manager — Cricket, Mumbai Indians). I was finally convinced. And I thanked him wholeheartedly. I had performed well at the MI trials, but I never thought I would be picked at the auction. As a matter of fact, I was mentally prepared to work hard for another couple of years and do well in domestic cricket. I wasn’t thinking about playing in the Vivo IPL all that much,” he says.

Markande garnered attention by picking up 10 wickets in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and five wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season. But the Bathinda-born lad’s cricket journey began a decade ago.

“I started playing cricket at the age of 10 or 11. I used to be a fast bowler. But I wasn’t all that quick. The coaches at the academy I went to advised me to give up fast bowling. Also, they were impressed with the fact that I used to bowl the back-of-the-hand slower one very well. So, they suggested that I switch to leg-spin. Then, I worked on it for a couple of years. Given that I already knew to bowl the googly, things panned out pretty well,” he recalls.

Markande trained under the guidance of former India player Reetinder Singh Sodhi’s father in Patiala. “My game improved a lot. Then, I moved to another academy. It was run by Munish Bali Sir.”

A huge fan of Sachin Tendulkar, he also looks up to spin wizard Shane Warne. “I used to follow his performances and bowling very closely. Right now, my favourite player is Rohit Sharma,” Markande reveals. Now that he is going to play under Sharma’s captaincy, Markande is obviously happy. “I met him at the MI camp. It was my first meeting with him. He treated me very well. He spoke so positively. I hope he teaches me how to approach the game. I am sure I will get to learn a lot from him,” he says.

For someone who didn’t expect to get picked at the auction, Markande has already come a long way. Now that he is part of the MI set-up, Markande wants to “contribute to the team’s cause” to the best of his abilities. “We have great players and great coaches in our team. My goal is to learn as much as possible and become a better player.”