Jitesh Sharma, who played for the Punjab Kings in the 2024 Indian Premier League, had a lacklustre season, scoring five single-digit runs in twelve innings. He has already contributed to RCB’s improved batting display this season with a few cameos in the middle order, but none have had as much of an impact as his 19-ball 40 against the Mumbai Indians in their most recent match at the Wankhede.
Jitesh took pleasure in the precision with which he has approached the season and seemed confident in the improvement in his batting thus far. “I believe my mentality was the cause of last year’s performance. Because I wasn’t mentally focused on the game at the time, I’ve informed everyone about it. A day before their matchup with the Delhi Capitals, Jitesh stated at a news conference in Bengaluru, “I was thinking about future things.”
He mostly attributes his current turnaround to Dinesh Karthik, the batting coach and mentor of RCB, as well as the man he is replacing at RCB as a finisher and wicketkeeper. “Dinesh bhai informed me that it was a human error when I visited him. It isn’t too difficult. Not a single person experiences it. Everyone experiences it. When he watched my batting style and my attempt to dominate, he realised that I don’t have the frenzy to score runs; I’m someone who always looks for the win. I’m crazy about winning games. I really enjoy that. He discovered that I was missing a few shots.
He learnt that I’m working on it,” Jitesh remarked.
In all of T20 cricket, he is one of just four Indian batsmen with a sample size of 100+ innings who had a strike-rate of more than 150. With a strike-rate of 192.07 between overs 16 and 20 in the IPL, he has established himself as one of the most devastating finishers. Following Karthik’s retirement, his skill set matched RCB’s needs, creating a void in the exact similar function he had successfully filled for them. Karthik’s work with Jitesh has given the batsman a fresh perspective on his own game, since his form needs to be corrected.
“Up till now, the journey has been fantastic. Because I really worked hard with him [Karthik] throughout the off-season,” he explains. “Every shot I’m shooting at the moment is an exact clone of the one he ever played.
“He believes that I can play from many angles, thus he is attempting to develop me as a new player. Seeing myself in a different position is a lot of fun. I’m thrilled when I play those shots because I’ve never tried them before. I can execute, and I have all of his support. The journey is amazing. I’m still really eager,” Jitesh says, adding that his confidence depends on how he trains.
“The score has no bearing on my confidence. It always relies on how I train in my practice and how I operate. Because the factors will continue to change if I am confident in the outcome. Therefore, I mostly maintain my confidence in practice alone’, he remarked.
In the 40* he scored against MI, Jitesh was almost solely responsible for dismissing Trent Boult, MI’s death bowler. In the final five overs, he faced eight balls from the left-arm seamer and scored 24 runs. It proved to be crucial in a close finish and enabled RCB reach their second-highest total at the Wankhede. With all of their hitters now having made some sort of contribution throughout the tournament, Jitesh’s recovery checked off another box for RCB. According to Jitesh, the enhanced batting aggression is also based on astute reasoning.
“We’re playing incredibly clever cricket. We won’t simply go out and hit every bowler. Everybody’s strength is known to us. We are well acquainted with one another in the batting order, and the team management has assigned each of us a certain job, such as Jitesh Sharma going after particular bowlers. We are therefore acting extremely wisely. We’re not aiming for mindless dominance. We are making thoughtful decisions at every turn.
India
