"Would have never realized my potential"- Jitesh Sharma on how he transformed from an opener into a middle-order batter

Jitesh Sharma has made a reputation for himself in domestic cricket as one of the most fearsome strikers of the ball. Many believe the Vidarbha and Punjab Kings batter should also be groomed as India's next finisher in T20Is.

However, very few might know that Jitesh started his cricketing career as an opener. He used to bat in the top order and got off to promising starts, but often failed to convert those starts into big scores.

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Jitesh Sharma opened up on how he was advised by his former coach to start batting in the middle order. He said:

"I would have never realized my potential as a middle-order batter had it not been noticed by Pritam sir, who was our coach back then. He realized that we needed more solidity in our middle order and noticed that I was getting off to starts at the top but wasn't getting those big scores."

I realized I was able to hit sixes for fun: Jitesh Sharma

Jitesh Sharma further spoke about the changes that he observed in his run-scoring once he began to bat at a time when the ball stopped swinging. He realized that he was able to get quick-fire runs and settled nicely into that role in the practice games that he initially played.

On this, the Vidarbha batter stated:

"We used to practice from 6 am in Nagpur and in those conditions the ball used to do quite a bit. So my coach advised me to bat at around 10 am when there was a decent amount of sunlight. I realized that I was able to hit sixes for fun. Sir sent me to bat in the middle order in a couple of practice matches and I began to feel a lot more comfortable in that role."

He added:

"I began to assess the conditions better and continued to show intent despite the fall of wickets. I was able to score quick runs for my team and really felt comfortable and confident that I could keep doing this consistently. So that's when I permanently became a middle-order batter."

Jitesh Sharma is part of India's squad for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand and will be hopeful of making an impact if he gets a chance to make his debut.