All posts tagged: Jitesh Sharma

Why Jitesh Sharma said Royal Challengers Bengaluru are not defending the IPL title but chasing it | Cricket News

Why Jitesh Sharma said Royal Challengers Bengaluru are not defending the IPL title but chasing it | Cricket News

Published by Webster

2 min readApr 4, 2026 08:46 PM IST Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vice captain Jitesh Sharma said that the franchise is not defending the Indian Premier League title which they won in 2025 but rather defending it. “Irrelevant, Frankly speaking. Mo Bobat, our director, clearly said we are not defending (the title). We are chasing the title. We are hungry like we were last year. Lots of people have forgotten that we are champions,” Jitesh said on Saturday ahead of RCB’s match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). “This is a new season. We have to start a new game and take one game at a time. But we have that confidence that we have achieved something. With that confidence, we are just going forward,” he added. Sharma, who was a vital cog in RCB’s title-winning campaign last year said that being the vice-captain and the whole leadership experience has added a certain edge to his game. “I think whenever you get the responsibility, you feel grateful and privileged and I take extra effort to give …

‘Hardik bhai was the first one who messaged me when I wasn’t picked for the World Cup’: Jitesh Sharma

‘Hardik bhai was the first one who messaged me when I wasn’t picked for the World Cup’: Jitesh Sharma

Published by Webster

3 min readMar 27, 2026 08:53 PM IST Jitesh Sharma lost his spot in the squad for the T20 World Cup 2026 very late. The Indian team has decided to go with Ishan Kishan as the wicket-keeper alongside Sanju Samson. Jitesh, recalling the difficult period, said Hardik Pandya was the first person to message him and also revealed how helpful Hardik is. “Hardik bhai was the first one who messaged me when I wasn’t picked for the World Cup,” Jitesh told on the YouTube channel in interaction with Ranveer Allahbadia. “He advised me to just keep growing as a person, as a cricketer. A lot of cricketers messaged me. Arshdeep (Singh), Avesh (Khan) – they are my good friends and they all messaged. Shivam (Dube) bhai too.” “Hardik Pandya is the most helpful guy I’ve met. I’ve not met anyone who gives more bats to kids than him, even without being asked. He even gave one to me once. Even Krunal bhai, you call him and he’s there to help you,” he said. “I also …

Virat Kohli Strikes at 241 in RCB Warm-Up Game; Jitesh Sharma Shines with Intent

Virat Kohli Strikes at 241 in RCB Warm-Up Game; Jitesh Sharma Shines with Intent

Published by Webster

The cricket star Virat Kohli has been in fine form with the bat during the intra-squad warm-up game ahead of the IPL 2026 opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Virat has scored 12-ball 29 at a strike rate of 241, six days ahead of IPL 2026’s first match at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Split into teams led by Krunal Pandya and Venkatesh Iyer, the batters had a strong outing in a friendly practice game. The team has gathered in Bengaluru and is already in full training mode. The official handle shared a practice session on Monday, highlighting key moments. In the clip, Krunal mentioned that the batters have been in excellent touch during Sunday’s session. “It was a good practice game. Everyone had a good hit. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled really well, Abhinandan (Singh) bowled really well, Mangesh (Yadav) bowled really well,” Krunal said. On the other hand, Jitesh Sharma was in hot form, scoring 81 runs off 37 deliveries at a strike rate of almost 219. He will be taking on the finisher role during the campaign. 𝗥𝗖𝗕’𝘀 …

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi triggers debate between AB de Villiers and India wicket-keeper

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi triggers debate between AB de Villiers and India wicket-keeper

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Mar 23, 2026 03:35 PM IST Within the year of his sensational arrival on the IPL stage, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has gotten the entire cricketing world to stand up and take notice of his exceptionally rare and blinding range as a batter. The dashing Rajasthan Royals southpaw scored the fastest IPL hundred by an Indian in 35 balls last year, and has since butchered records at the under-19 level. The rampage culminated with an ICC U19 World Cup title and a thunderous 80-ball 175 in the final against England in February. South Africa batting legend AB de Villiers raved about the innate maturity that Sooryavanshi exuded during the tournament. However, de Villiers faced a sharp counter from India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicket-keeper, Jitesh Sharma, who has had the experience of leading Sooryavanshi recently. The 14-year-old had stormed into the India A side last year for the Rising Stars Asia Cup in Qatar, where Jitesh was his captain. And while de Villiers regarded Sooryavanshi as a thorough professional already, Jitesh could only …

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will never be professional: RCB star disagrees with AB de Villiers, willing to spend USD 1 million

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will never be professional: RCB star disagrees with AB de Villiers, willing to spend USD 1 million

Published by Parlour News

The Indian Premier League 2026 begins in six days, and if there’s one player fans can’t wait to catch a glimpse of, it’s Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The teenager, who turns 15 on Friday, returns to the Rajasthan Royals a year after setting the IPL on fire with a swashbuckling 35-ball century. Over the past year, Sooryavanshi has taken the world by storm, smashing centuries in Australia, South Africa and England, and even winning the Under-19 World Cup. But his true test begins in a few days, with several bowlers believed to have spotted his weakness and figured him out. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi turns 15 on Friday (AFP) Sooryavanshi promises a bright future. He can be a maverick, a trailblazer, and perhaps even a future legend. However, according to Jitesh Sharma, the one thing he may never be is a ‘professional’. The RCB wicketkeeper-batter, who captained Sooryavanshi in the India A Asia Cup last year, said he would happily invest a million dollars in the teenager. Yet, when AB de Villiers asked him about Sooryavanshi’s exploits, Jitesh differed …

Felt ‘very sad’ about having to drop Jitesh Sharma from 2026 T20 World Cup squad, went with Ishan Kishan on gut, says Suryakumar Yadav | Cricket News

Felt ‘very sad’ about having to drop Jitesh Sharma from 2026 T20 World Cup squad, went with Ishan Kishan on gut, says Suryakumar Yadav | Cricket News

Published by Webster

3 min readMar 16, 2026 03:45 PM IST Ishan Kishan was a last-minute addition to the Indian team for the 2026 T20 World Cup and the move paid dividends, to put it lightly. Kishan was in red-hot form in domestic cricket and simply continued on that on his return to international cricket after a two-year absence in the T20I series against New Zealand, which had preceded the T20 World Cup. In the tournament itself, Kishan finished as India’s second highest run scorer behind Samson and was arguably the most reliable cog in the batting lineup throughout the tournament. Kishan scored 317 runs in nine innings at an astonishing strike rate of 193.29 with three half-centuries to show. India captain Suryakumar Yadav said that they had gone for Kishan on the basis of their gut feel as much as the numbers.  The flip side of it was that Jitesh Sharma, who had been performing consistently until then as India’s backup wicketkeeper, had to make way which Suryakumar admitted was unfair. “It was completely on gut, little …

My father fell ill and passed away on February 1…realised my dad needed me more than the World Cup’

My father fell ill and passed away on February 1…realised my dad needed me more than the World Cup’

Published by Webster

2 min readMar 11, 2026 08:49 PM IST Jitesh Sharma was in and about the Indian squad around the T20 World Cup squad announcement time. Given the designated role of a finisher, Jitesh was performing well and played some timely cameos through this period in the team. However, as the time to announce the squad for the showpiece event has arrived, the Indian management has decided to drop Jitesh from the squad alongside Shubman Gill and bring in Ishan Kishan into the side. Jitesh, speaking in a video, revealed his heartbreaking tale of his father’s demise and how he dealt with not getting picked for the squad. “I’m also a human, so I did feel sad initially. But my family and friends supported me a lot and that phase passed. My father fell ill and passed away on February 1, and I was with him for seven days. Later I realised my dad needed me more than the World Cup. I have no regrets and I’m grateful to God that I could be with him …

‘Wasn’t aware of omission until squad announcement’: Jitesh Sharma opens up on ‘heartbreaking’ T20 World Cup snub | Cricket News

‘Wasn’t aware of omission until squad announcement’: Jitesh Sharma opens up on ‘heartbreaking’ T20 World Cup snub | Cricket News

Published by Webster

India wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma revealed that he was left heartbroken upon learning about his snub from the 15-member T20 World Cup 2026 team, a day after being in the T20I contingent in Ahmedabad during the South Africa series in December. The 32-year-old Jitesh earned a comeback into the T20I fold in September 2025 as India began their preparatory bid for the World Cup with the Asia Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates. While he remained as back-up to Sanju Samson during the tournament, Jitesh soon pipped the Kerala batter after his indifferent form in the middle-order during the Australia tour. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru finisher then played seven games in succession, including India’s last T20I in Ahmedabad. However, a day later, Jitesh found himself out of the rejigged T20I squad unveiled by the chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar. India dropped Jitesh along side vice captain Shubman Gill as they recalled Ishan Kishan as the backup opener-cum-wicket-keeper alongside finisher Rinku Singh. Recalling the snub in an interaction with CricTracker, Jitesh said:  “I wasn’t aware of …

‘Hardik bhai was the first one who messaged me when I wasn’t picked for the World Cup’: Jitesh Sharma

‘After MS Dhoni, he was perhaps best at helping captain with DRS calls’: Sunil Gavaskar’s high praise for Jitesh Sharma after T20 World Cup snub | Cricket News

Published by Webster

The big news coming out of India’s T20 World Cup squad announcement on Saturday was Shubman Gill’s exclusion from the team. But even though Gill’s omission is grabbing headlines, Jitesh Sharma was another player who missed out of the squad due to the return of Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh. Former India World Cup winner Sunil Gavaskar had high praises for Jitesh, who has been solid behind the stumps in the recently concluded South Africa series, comparing the Royal Challengers Bengaluru player to the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni on his DRS calls. “He (Jitesh) did nothing wrong. He was a very good wicketkeeper in his chances, and after MS Dhoni, he was perhaps the best at helping the captain with DRS calls from behind the stumps. It is tough on him, but he is young. He just needs to go back to domestic cricket and keep performing,” Gavaskar said on JioHotstar on Saturday. Gavaskar also backed the selection of in-form batter Kishan in the Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Kishan, who has …

India’s T20 challenges: Cold Dharamshala, hot South Africa | Cricket News

India’s T20 challenges: Cold Dharamshala, hot South Africa | Cricket News

Published by Webster

The build-up to the third T20I between India and South Africa on Sunday does not start in Dharamshala. Instead, it begins about 50 km away at the bottom of Kangra, before the wide highways make way for the narrow roads that traverse the hillside, where several billboards, big and small, welcome the cricket-mad tourists to the “most beautiful stadium in the world”. While it is the life-sized face of Anurag Thakur, former BCCI president, sports minister and BJP MP, that adorns the promotional posters, the travelling fans will hope to have stills of gleaming India team players on the postcards from this picture-perfect cricket ground. The team itself will be hoping to put down the 51-run mauling from the visitors in Mullanpur on Thursday as nothing more than an aberration. To do so, though, they will have to counter the unique conditions that will be thrown at them in the shivering cold weather, as the snow-capped peaks of the Dhauladhar mountain range stare down upon them. Questions are being asked about the form of some …