Atharva Ankolekar (born 26 September 2000) is an Indian

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who plays for India Under-19s. He was the highest wicket-taker at the

2019 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup The 2019 Under-19 Asia Cup was the 8th edition of ACC Under-19 Cup. The cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each c ...

and player of the match in the final. He made his senior debut for Mumbai in January 2021.

Early and personal life

Ankolekar was born on 26 September 2000 into a lower-middle-class family. His father Vinod Ankolekar, an employee at the electricity department of

BEST Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...

and Kanga League cricketer, wanted him to become a professional cricketer and placed a

cricket bat A cricket bat is a specialised piece of equipment used by batters in the sport of cricket to hit the ball, typically consisting of a cane handle attached to a flat-fronted willow-wood blade. It may also be used by a batter who is making ground ...

near his crib on the day of his birth. After being initially coached by his father, Ankolekar was trained for one season at

Chandrakant Pandit Chandrakant Sitaram Pandit (born 30 September 1961) is a former Indian cricketer who played in 5 Tests and 36 ODIs from 1986 to 1992. He was a Wicket Keeper Batsman for Indian national cricket team. He made his test debut against E ...

's academy but later had to switch to MIG Cricket Club due to financial constraints. His father died in 2010 due to malaria and dengue. Ankolekar's family struggled to make ends meet after his father's death, even as Ankolekar's mother Vaidehi Ankolekar's worked part-time as a private tutor. In 2014, Vaidehi started working as a bus conductor for BEST. He completed his schooling from

Parle Tilak Vidyalaya English Medium School Parle Tilak Vidyalaya English Medium School (PTVEMS) is an English-medium school located in Vile Parle East in Mumbai, India. It is one of the most premier and reputed schools of Mumbai. The school has Primary and Secondary Sections. The school i ...

(Vile Parle). And studied commerce at the Rizvi College of Arts, Science and Commerce in Mumbai.

Career

Ankolekar made steady progress through Mumbai's age-group teams, before being selected for India B in the Under-19 Challenger Trophy and Mumbai under-23 squad in 2019. He was selected in the 15-member Indian squad for the

. He picked 12 wickets in the tournament, including a match-winning 5/28 in the final against Bangladesh, to finish as the highest wicket-taker. Earlier in the tournament, he had taken 3/36 against Pakistan and 4/16 against Afghanistan. In the aftermath of the Asia Cup victory, Ankolekar gained selection in the Mumbai senior team for the

2019–20 Vijay Hazare Trophy The 2019–20 Vijay Hazare Trophy was the 18th season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, a List A cricket tournament in India. It took place in September and October 2019, after the 2019–20 Duleep Trophy, Duleep Trophy and before the 2019–20 Ranji ...

. In December 2019, he was named in India's squad for the

2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup The 2020 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup was an international limited-overs cricket tournament that was held in South Africa from 17 January to 9 February 2020. It was the thirteenth edition of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, and the second to be ...

. After sitting out of India's first two matches in the tournament, Ankolekar's spell of 3/28 in the final group stage match against New Zealand drew praise. Batting at number 7 in the quarterfinal against Australia, he scored 55 runs off 54 balls to help India post 233/9 and eventually win the match. He made his Twenty20 debut on 13 January 2021, for Mumbai in the

2020–21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2020–21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was the thirteenth edition of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, a Twenty20 competition that was played in India. It started on 10 January 2021, with the final taking place on 31 January 2021. Karnataka were the defending ...

. He made his

List A List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...

debut on 25 February 2021, for Mumbai in the

2020–21 Vijay Hazare Trophy The 2020–21 Vijay Hazare Trophy was the 19th season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, a List A cricket tournament in India. The tournament took place from 20 February to 14 March 2021. Karnataka were the defending champions. In January 2021, the Bo ...

Playing style

Ankolekar initially played as a lower-order batsman, and started bowling

left-arm orthodox spin Left-arm orthodox spin, Left-arm off spin also known as slow left-arm orthodox spin bowling, is a type of Finger spin, left-arm finger spin bowling (cricket), bowling in the sport of cricket. Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left-arm bow ...

on a regular basis at the insistence of his coach.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ankolekar, Atharva 2000 births Living people Indian cricketers Cricketers from Mumbai Mumbai cricketers