Jitesh Sharma: A quiet team man left behind by Suryakumar Yadav, Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar | Cricket News
NEW DELHI: In his minute and 40-second Instagram Reel, former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik couldn’t hide his emotions while talking about India’s T20 World Cup squad. He labelled the omission of Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma as “shocking.”Karthik said: “I didn’t see that coming. It just tells you there’s a little bit of clarity lacking. I feel really bad for Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma.”
Much will be made of Shubman Gill being dropped but it is equally bewildering to see Jitesh Sharma not being named in the 15-member squad. The wicketkeeper-batter has been a perfect team man. With Sanju Samson being the first-choice keeper, he warmed the bench without making any fuss during the Bangladesh series last year. In the next series, he was shown the door.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The Vidarbha batter let his bat do the talking in the Indian Premier League. Jitesh scored only 261 runs in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) title-winning season, but it wasn’t the runs that caught the selectors’ eyes — it was his strike rate of 176.35 while batting at Nos. 6 and 7.Those performances helped him get back into the India team for the Asia Cup. T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, who Jitesh considers as his cricketing idol, backed him during the continental tournament.
India’s Jitesh Sharma dislodges the bails to dismiss South Africa’s Quinton de Kock during the second T20 International cricket match of a series between India and South Africa, at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, in New Chandigarh.
“Post last T20 World Cup, we spoke a lot on how to go about it. We spoke about not thinking of milestones ahead and following the journey. He’s been a completely different cricketer post that. The way he performed in the IPL and domestic tournaments he played, he’s done really well and earned his spot again,” Suryakumar had said on Jitesh’s comeback.Before the start of the Asia Cup, TimesofIndia.com learnt that with Shubman Gill back as an opener, it would be Jitesh Sharma who would play in the middle order. But in Dubai, the team management backed Sanju to bat at No. 5 in a revolving batting order.The Sanju experiment in the middle order fell flat. On the other hand, Jitesh kept working hard in the nets, waiting for his chance, but ended up warming the bench throughout the Asia Cup.
India’s Jitesh Sharma bats during the T20 cricket international between India and Australia in Hobart. AP/PTI(AP11_02_2025_000201A)
It was in Australia where Jitesh finally got the chance to play. In the three T20Is, he batted twice — scoring an unbeaten 22 off 13 balls in the third T20I in India’s five-wicket win while batting at No. 7 and playing his role to perfection.In the recently concluded five-match series against South Africa, he went out to bat thrice — scoring a five-ball 10 in Cuttack, a quickfire 27 off 17 balls in New Chandigarh, and not getting to face a ball in Ahmedabad. The 32-year-old was excellent with the gloves as well.Jitesh didn’t do anything wrong. He was a perfect team man and probably an easy scapegoat for the management, which is why he was dropped from India’s T20 World Cup squad.
Jitesh Sharma of India bats during game three of the T20 International series between Australia and India at Bellerive Oval on November 02, 2025 in Hobart, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
TimesofIndia.com has also learnt the wicketkeeper-batter was in the team management’s Playing XI plans for the World Cup but now finds himself out of the squad. He was preparing for match situations where he would get only 5-7 balls to face but the designated finisher has been conveniently dropped for a top-order option in Ishan Kishan.A lot happened in the last few hours as not many saw these changes coming. It doesn’t matter whether it was due to a combination call or something else, the fact is Jitesh has been left in the lurch by his cricketing idol — Suryakumar Yadav.In his career, Jitesh has seen one too many swings of misfortune. But this brutal omission, without any explanation, says a lot about the “lack of clarity” in the Indian dressing room.
India’s Jitesh Sharma at a warm-up session before the start of the Asia Cup 2025 match between India and UAE, in Dubai. (Creimas/Asian Cricket Council via PTI Photo)(PTI09_10_2025_000373B)
Shubman Gill is 26, and with age on his side, he may get another go at a World Cup — not to forget he plays the other two formats as well. But for players like Jitesh, 32, who plays just one format and are absolute team men, this was a moment to cherish. Instead, it has been destroyed, and it will take him time to come out of this heartbreak.
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Earlier this year, in an exclusive interview with TimesofIndia.com, Jitesh had spoken about his belief in fate. “Mere naseeb mein tha. Mujhe achhe log milte gaye. Mere bhaagya mein tha (It was in my destiny. I kept meeting good people. It was in my fate),” he had said about his cricketing career.It seems Jitesh will now have to accept his fate and, hopefully, bounce back from this setback.
