All posts tagged: Jitesh

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

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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

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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 …

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

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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 …

‘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 …

Robin Uthappa on dropping Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma from 2026 T20 World Cup squad: ‘Indian cricket is a strange place’ | Cricket News

Robin Uthappa on dropping Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma from 2026 T20 World Cup squad: ‘Indian cricket is a strange place’ | Cricket News

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Omission of Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma from the 2026 World Cup squad did come as a surprise. While the form of Gill has been on a downward curve in the T20Is, the axing of Jitesh can be attributed to the team combination picked. Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa said that Indian cricket is a strange place and said one has to feel bad for Gill. “Indian cricket is a strange place. You would think there would be some semblance of predictability. It’s a great side, a fantastic side, no doubt. But hearts are broken for sure. I empathise with them. You’ve got to feel bad for Shubman Gill. He’s the captain of the Test and ODI side. Worst case scenario, I thought somebody else might be named the vice captain, but he’ll find a spot in the side, maybe not in the 11, but he’ll find a spot in the side as a third opener.” Speaking about Jitesh Sharma, Gill said, “Jitesh did nothing wrong. He has done exceptionally well. Having said that, the …

‘He scores over Gill, Jaiswal and Jitesh’: Former India captain explains how Ishan Kishan earned T20 World Cup spot | Cricket News

‘He scores over Gill, Jaiswal and Jitesh’: Former India captain explains how Ishan Kishan earned T20 World Cup spot | Cricket News

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Former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth heaped praise on Jharkhand wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan who bolted back into the reckoning after two years as India’s back-up wicket-keeper for the T20 World Cup 2026 title defence. On Saturday, Kishan made a surprise entry into the 15-man squad unveiled at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai by secretary Devajit Saikia, chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and captain Suryakumar Yadav. Despite leading Jharkhand to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali title with a record 517 runs and a final-winning century, Kishan haf found himself on the outside looking in. With the likes of Samson, Jitesh Sharma, and a returning Rishabh Pant clogging the wicketkeeper-batsman slots, he remained an underdog for a spot in the national side. However, when the selectors sat down to deliberate their combinations for the World Cup and settle on a top-order wicket-keeper in Samson, the back-up cut naturally shifted to the in-form Kishan. ALSO READ | ‘If you do that, you can’t be removed’: Former India captain’s advice for Sanju Samson after making T20 World Cup cut Srikkanth lauded …

Right place, right time: How Ishan Kishan sneaked ahead of Jitesh Sharma in India’s T20 World Cup squad | Cricket News

Right place, right time: How Ishan Kishan sneaked ahead of Jitesh Sharma in India’s T20 World Cup squad | Cricket News

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India’s decision to tweak their strategy ahead of the T20 World Cup has opened a door against all odds for Ishan Kishan. With Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma around and Rishabh Pant waiting in the mix, Ishan was a rank outsider to make the squad. Despite making a record-making 517 runs in Jharkhand’s Syed Mushtaq Ali title triumph, which included a match-winning century in the final, the left-hander still seemed surplus to India’s requirements. That was 24 hours ago, until the selectors and the team management met before the fifth and final T20I against South Africa. The huge takeaway from that meet up was all parties walked away with a unanimous thought – they wanted wicketkeepers who batted at the top of the order. And as soon as that decision was sealed, the selectors’ only option to offer as a back-up to Samson was Ishan, a player India seemed to have had moved on. Since returning home midway through the South Africa tour after being perennially benched, Ishan had fallen off the pecking order. He …

‘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

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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 …

‘There’s a little bit of clarity lacking’: Dinesh Karthik on exclusion of Shubman Gill, Jitesh Sharma from India T20 World Cup squad | Cricket News

‘There’s a little bit of clarity lacking’: Dinesh Karthik on exclusion of Shubman Gill, Jitesh Sharma from India T20 World Cup squad | Cricket News

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The huge news coming out of India’s T20 World Cup squad announcement on Saturday was the exclusion of Shubman Gill. Gill, who was appointed both the Test and ODI captain, had returned to the India T20I setup ahead of the Asia Cup in September as the vice-captain but couldn’t fire with the bat. As a result, Axar Patel who Gill had replaced as the vice-captain, was appointed captain Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy for the T20 World Cup. Another omission from the squad was Jitesh Sharma who missed out due to India selecting Ishan Kishan as the second wicket-keeper batter and Rinku Singh also made his way into the squad which ruled out Jitesh who had looked solid in the recent South Africa series. Former India player Dinesh Karthik reacted to India’s World cup squad announcement, saying that there was a little lack of clarity. He, however, lauded the selected squad as one of the strongest heading into the tournament. “The big news of the day: India World Cup T20 squad is announced and guess what? Shubman …