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The BCCI confirmed that Jitesh Sharma will replace Sanju Samson in the Indian squad after the latter suffered an unfortunate knee injury that ruled him out of the series. The Vidarbha wicketkeeper was announced as his replacement on Wednesday (January 4th).
Jitesh has played 76 T20 matches on the domestic circuit and is one of the more experienced players going around. The 29-year-old carries the tag of the finisher in the shortest format of the game and is expected to play the same role for the national side.
He made his T20 debut for Vidarbha in 2014 but has had to wait nearly nine years to get his call-up to the Indian side. Much like Suryakumar Yadav, he is a late bloomer into the national side but comes in with the luxury of being confident in his own game.
On that note, we take a look at three reasons why Jitesh Sharma replacing Sanju Samson is the right move by the Indian side.
#1 Jitesh Sharma is a finisher
After starting out as a top-order batter, Jitesh remodeled his game to establish himself as one of the most consistent finishers in the domestic circuit. The Vidarbha wicketkeeper batter has nailed down that spot not only for his domestic side but also for his IPL franchise, the Punjab Kings.
He has played 12 matches in the cash-rich league, scoring 234 runs with the highest score of 44. With an average of 29.25 and a strike rate of 163.64 to go along with it, the 29-year-old has finally got his due and could be in line to make his international debut in the T20I series against Sri Lanka.
#2 He's proved himself in the domestic circuit
It's no surprise to find that the wicketkeeper batter from Vidarbha idolizes MS Dhoni. Jitesh not only realizes the challenges that come with his role but also relishes the responsibility of getting his side over the line in those situations.
He has done that on a number of occasions for his state side in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. In 2022, he scored 224 runs at an average of 56 and a strike rate of 175 in the T20 tournament.
In all T20s, he has scored 1787 runs at a strike rate of 147.93. This also includes nine fifties and a century. With his performances over an extended period of time, Jitesh deserves a call-up to the national side.
#3 It's a progressive pick from India in T20Is
For far too long now, India have been stacked with an abundance of resources but hasn't been able to get their hands on the T20 World Cup title since its inaugural edition. The team is usually constructed with high-quality batters throughout the lineup, but there has been a certain lack of role clarity.
The likes of Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant have been asked to play the role of the finisher in the past. While the aforementioned batters are well capable of executing that role, they aren't specialists.
The team management changed that approach by bringing Dinesh Karthik into the side last year. The 37-year-old was trusted to play the role of the finisher in most situations, cementing that spot as a specialist. With Jitesh, the same should be true as Team India tries to keep up with the progressive approach of the shortest format.
