"There was a feeling of pride but also a little bit of nervousness"- Jitesh Sharma on wearing Indian jersey for first time

Jitesh Sharma was called up as a replacement for Sanju Samson after the latter injured his knee and was ruled out of the final two T20Is against Sri Lanka. Having done well in domestic cricket for Vidarbha and in the IPL 2022 season for the Punjab Kings, it was a well-deserved call-up for Jitesh.

While any newcomer in the Indian team would understandably be fazed by the big occasion, Jitesh Sharma was pretty calm. He feels that playing with world-class cricketers in the IPL and having already worked with coaches like Paras Mhambrey in the past helped him settle in quickly.

Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, here's what Jitesh Sharma had to say about his first experience of wearing the Indian jersey:

"When I wore the Indian jersey, there was a feeling of pride but also a little bit of nervousness as I wanted to ensure that I never let my country down. Rahul sir welcomed me in the team and Paras Mhambrey sir has been a coach of Vidarbha so I already shared a great bond with him. Playing in the IPL has really helped me adjust and understand how things work at the higher level."

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Jitesh Sharma on goals for New Zealand T20Is

India are set to host the Kiwis for three T20Is starting on Friday, January 27. Jitesh is a part of the squad and wants to take things as they come without thinking too much about the future.

On this, he stated:

"I don't have any particular goal set for the New Zealand series, because as a finisher, every game will give you a different situation. Sometimes you will have many overs to play, while sometimes you will need to produce a cameo with limited deliveries left. So I want to keep myself blank and face the situations as they come. If any opportunity comes my way, I will try to maximize it and make my team win. Even if I make 20 runs and if they are impactful in the team's win, I will be very happy."

India’s T20I squad against New Zealand: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Suryakumar Yadav (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Prithvi Shaw, Mukesh Kumar.