Sanju Samson picked up an injury before the second match of the three-match T20 series between India and Sri Lanka (IND vs SL) and was replaced by batsman Jitesh Sharma in the India squad. This is the first time that Jitesh Sharma has received a call-up from the national team. Rishabh Pant’s car accident and KL Rahul’s absence have given Jitesh this golden opportunity. Whether or not he gets a place in the Playing-11 is a matter of later, but sharing a dressing room with Indian players will be nothing less than a great dream for him.
Jitesh was first named in Vidarbha’s senior squad for the 2012–13 Cooch Behar Trophy. He scored 537 runs in 12 innings here. After this wonderful performance, Jitesh slowly climbed the stairs of success. In March 2014, he was given the chance to make his List A debut at the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Following this, he was the third leading run scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2015-16. This was the reason why the Mumbai Indians bought it at the 2016 IPL auction.
Although Jitesh did not get a chance to debut in IPL. He failed to make his IPL debut for many seasons, but he continued to score runs for Vidarbha in all domestic tournaments. In 2022, Punjab Kings bought him and included him in game-11. In the last season, this player played many wonderful innings one after another.
Jitesh played 12 of 14 matches for Punjab Kings in IPL 2022 and scored runs at an average of 29.25 while coming down the order. During this, his unemployment rate was 163.64. He made 22 fours and 12 sixes. He failed to score a half century in any match, but his short but fast-paced innings were quite effective. Along with this, he also made 11 casualties behind the wicket, including two stumps.
Jitesh Sharma can bat fast from the first ball along with excellent wicket control. He can also play in the higher order, and can also play the role of finisher. In such a situation, there could be no better option than him in the T20 squad for Sanju Samson’s replacement.