Jitesh Sharma, a hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman for Vidabha who made the most of his opportunities in the previous Indian Premier League (IPL) through his skill with the bat and some deft work behind the stumps, has received his first call-up to the India team for the current Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka.
Sharma has been added to the 15-person Indian team while number one choice Rishabh Pant recovers in a hospital following an accident and is ruled out of the second game of the three-match series on Thursday due to an injury.
During the first game, which India won by two runs, Samson injured his knee while playing defence.
A BCCI source stated, “Samson has stayed back in Mumbai to have some scans.”
“Yes, Jitesh is joining the team. He has been rewarded for his performances for Punjab Kings in the IPL,” a
source added. It is reliably learnt that Sharma left for Pune by 4 am flight. Though Ishan Kishan, who
kept wickets in the tour opener, is there in squad of 15, Sharma has been included in the team as a cover.
Sharma has had a pretty good Syed Mushtaq Ali Tournament (T20) remaining not out on most of the occasions coming in as a middleorder batter. In the IPL, playing for Punjab Kings, the Amravati lad, impressed one and all including the likes of former India opener Virender Sehwag, who (then) went on
to say that if was the Indian selector, he would have picked Sharma for World
Twenty20 that was staged in Australia in September October 2022. Sharma was picked by the IPL team on his SMAT show in the previous edition where he ended the tournament with best Strike Rate (235.16) and maximum number of sixes (19).With Punjab Kings, he got instant success with his dare-devil batting
approach and smart wicketkeeping. He will join a select band of Vidarbha players including Prashant Vaidya, Umesh Yadav and Faiz Fazal to represent India, if he makes it to the playing eleven in the
remaining two games of the series. He could not be contacted for his comments.
