‘Sharma likes Sharma’ -Fans react as Jitesh Sharma expresses admiration for Rohit Sharma
Jitesh Sharma made 309 runs for Punjab Kings in Indian Premier League 2023.
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Jul 9, 2023 5:06 pm
Jitesh Sharma (Source: Twitter)
The omission of wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma from the Indian T20I team for the West Indies tour infuriated the fans. Given that he had two fantastic Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons in 2022 and 2023, the keeper-batter has proven that he is the real deal. He played in 12 games of the IPL 2022, scoring 234 runs at an average of 29.25 and a strike rate of 164.63. He improved in 2023 and batted for Punjab Kings in the middle order at important moments.
He hit 309 runs in 14 games at an average of 23.76 and a strike rate of 156.06. Jitesh came in at difficult positions in the middle order and scored valuable runs in IPL 2023 be it to set up the game or hit quick runs in the end in a run chase, Jitesh did it all and also showed his calibre behind the stumps. Jitesh had also earned an India call-up to Sri Lanka and New Zealand at home in place of Sanju Samson who had picked up an injury then.
I have watched Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma very closely – Jitesh Sharma
“It was a great learning process. You are 28-29, but you still want to learn. When you go to the highest level, you still feel incomplete and have so many things to learn about the game. So it was very thrilling,” Sharma said when asked about his experience of being a part of the Indian Team. “I was so keen to go there, in the nets, in the warm-up, everywhere. I was so excited. I am someone who never gets tense. I always enjoy the pressure, so it was a very good experience and I think I enjoyed it a lot there,” he added.
When asked about his inspirations in cricket, Jitesh had a long list. “While growing up, I always used to look up to Sourav Ganguly because my dad is a big fan of him. He used to talk about him a lot and because of that my jersey number is 99 in the IPL. As a wicketkeeper, I admired Adam Gilchrist and MS Dhoni. Have also followed Rohit (Sharma) bhai and Virat (Kohli) closely. I love to watch Ambati Rayudu’s batting as well. He was with us in VCA. I learnt a lot from him because of the person he is and the thought process he has towards the game is amazing.”
Let us take a look at the reactions on Twitter:
Life changing in terms of it held him back in life as mi management is not that supportive
