Jitesh Sharma Recounts His Journey to the Indian Team

It was a welcome surprise for Punjab Kings wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma when he got picked for the Indian T20I side against Sri Lanka. After impressing cricket pundits in IPL 2022, the Maharashtra batsman was looking forward to the upcoming season of the league. He is not part of the ongoing Ranji Trophy. According to him, the national call-up was totally unexpected. He had been focussing on his fitness with the IPL scheduled from March onwards when he received Chetan Sharma’s call.

Jitesh was named as a replacement for the injured Sanju Samson for the last two matches versus Sri Lanka. Jitesh also talked about how his life was filled with activity after the selection call. I am getting a lot of calls from my relatives, school, and clubs but I am keeping things simple, he said. While he feels responsible towards the national team, he is not taking any undue pressure. He also spoke about the welcoming environment in the Indian dressing room and how he is looking forward to his role in the middle order and playing aggressive cricket.

From Domestic Cricket to the Indian Team

Not unlike numerous young talents in India, it was the Indian Premier League where Jitesh caught the eyes of the world. He had been part of the tournament since 2017 with Mumbai Indians but spent five years along the sidelines. His domestic form also dipped following which he decided to work on his finishing skills. He finished the 2021-22 season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as the highest six-hitter of with 19 sixes.

All this finally borne fruit as Jitesh made his IPL debut with the Punjab Kings. He has been very effective for the franchise down the order. He played 12 matches last season and finished with a strike rate of over 160. His exploits included scores of 38*(18), 32(23), 30*(15) and 44(34) coming lower down the order. When asked about his smooth transition to the world’s toughest T20 league, Jitesh credited the wealth of experience that he had accumulated over the years in domestic cricket. After getting the much-deserved India call-up, it will be interesting to see how the keeper-batsman fares in international cricket.