Soon after the Test series, that was drawn, Ankola was called for the ODI series. He made his ODI debut in the second of the three-match series; the first ODI was abandoned due to bad lights. Ankola picked up two wickets conceding 26 runs. He arrived at number 10 in the second innings at a stage where India needed 15 runs of one over. Ankola hit a six of the first ball that he faced off Imran Khan but eventually ended on the losing side. In the next match, he bowled just 2.3 overs (15 balls) before the match was called off due to crowd disruption. Despite being selected in the Test squads on domestic series and overseas tours, he never got an opportunity to play for the team. Being dropped from the team without getting a game was known in cricket circles as being "Ankolad". However, Ankola continued to play ODI cricket. In the early 1990s, he along with other bowlers such as Abey Kuruvilla, Paras Mhambrey, Nilesh Kulkarni and Sairaj Bahutule was trained under Frank Tyson. Ankola mainly worked on altering his style rather than pace. During this period, Ankola married Parineeta; the couple has two children—a daughter and a son. After a period of three years, Ankola was selected for the Charms Cup against England and Zimbabwe at home. In a match against South Africa during the Hero Cup (1993), he captured three wickets for 33 runs, which remained his career-best bowling figures in ODIs.