"His ticket to the World Cup has started getting printed slightly" - Parthiv Patel on Jitesh Sharma

Former India player Parthiv Patel feels Jitesh Sharma is on the verge of sealing his place in India’s squad for the upcoming marquee event – T20 World Cup 2024. However, Jitesh Sharma is one of the two wicketkeeper-batters, with Sanju Samson being the other, in India’s 16-member squad for the ongoing T20I series against Afghanistan as well. However, he was preferred over Sanju Samson for the first two games.

During a discussion on JioCinema, Patel added: “Yes, they are definitely doing that and the reason for that is the number of openers or top-order batters we have in the Indian team. There is a sort of traffic jam at the top because you have Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, who is injured, and Shubman Gill, who opened in the first match.”

The former India wicketkeeper-batter added: “So India’s option is probably to have a wicketkeeper who can bat down the order. If you have to bat down the order, you need a destructive batter. The way Jitesh Sharma is playing, he is a very good option and I feel his ticket to the World Cup has started getting printed slightly.”

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Meanwhile, Parthiv Patel also added that Jitesh Sharma is the only middle-order wicketkeeper-batter option available for the Indian team as well. He again shared that the other contenders – Sanju Samson, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan – bat in the top order only. Parthiv Patel also lauded Jitesh Sharma for playing as per the demands of the situation in the first T20I against Afghanistan as well.

“The sample size is very small, but when he came to bat in the first T20I, he came before the 10th over. I feel he understood the situation very well and played according to that,” Aakash Chopra concluded. “He didn’t have to bat the way he usually does. He had to settle a little, keep the strike rate slightly low, and then play his shots. It means he showed another dimension as well, that he can also build an innings.”