"In India, everything starts after MS Dhoni" - Jitesh Sharma on legendary Indian wicketkeeper

Jitesh Sharma made his IPL debut against the Chennai Super Kings last year (P.C.:Jitesh Sharma Instagram)
Jitesh Sharma made his IPL debut against the Chennai Super Kings last year (P.C.:Jitesh Sharma Instagram)

Like every budding wicketkeeper in India, even Vidarbha cricketer Jitesh Sharma idolizes former Indian skipper MS Dhoni for his incredibly quick and accurate glovework. Dhoni continues to be one of the best in the business in that regard, even after having retired from international cricket.

Speaking to Sports Yaari, Jitesh opened up on the influence that veterans like Rohit Sharma and AB de Villiers have had on him in becoming a dangerous batter. But when it came to glovework, he claimed that there was simply no need to look further than Dhoni.

Here's what Jitesh Sharma had to say about MS Dhoni:

"In India, everything starts after MS Dhoni, so there's no need to even say how inspiring he has been for every cricketer including me. He has always been so incredible with his glovework."
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In my off-time, I watch videos of MS Dhoni: Jitesh Sharma

Apart from being an explosive batter, Jitesh Sharma has also proved to be a reliable finisher for Vidarbha as well as for the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in his maiden IPL season last year.

With Dhoni being one of the best finishers to ever play the game, Jitesh keeps watching videos of the former Indian skipper finishing matches to learn how he handles pressure.

On this, he stated:

"In my off-time I try and watch his videos to understand how he handles pressure, takes the game deep or targets particular bowlers. By God's grace if I get a chance to interact with him in person, will definitely try to learn a lot more from him."

Jitesh has been added to India's current T20I squad for the remaining two T20Is against Sri Lanka, after Sanju Samson was ruled out due to a knee injury.

India’s updated squad for Sri Lanka T20Is: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar.

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Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee