Indian wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma was firmly in the reckoning for a spot in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup at the start of IPL 2024. Life was going smooth for Jitesh up till this IPL season. He was featuring in India’s T20I squad, playing most of the matches. When India last played a T20I series against Afghanistan in January 2024 with less than 6 months to go for T20 WC, it looked like Jitesh would board the plane for the USA and West Indies. However, a dismal IPL 2024 campaign till now is threatening to put his place in the T20 World Cup squad in jeopardy.
Promising start
Jitesh Sharma burst on to the Indian cricketing landscape in IPL 2022 with Punjab Kings. The wicketkeeper-batter smashed 244 runs in 12 matches at an average of just under 20 in his debut season. His strike rate of over 163 was particularly impressive. Jitesh followed it up with breaching the 300 run mark in IPL 2023.
His performances earned him a call up in the Indian team, and he impressed with his short cameos against Australia and Afghanistan.
Poor run of form at the wrong time
However, Jitesh is having a dismal IPL 2024 campaign. The wicketkeeper-batter has not been able to get himself going at all. In spite of playing all the matches, Jitesh has only managed to score 128 runs in 8 matches. His average has been poor, and his strike rate has been considerably lower than the previous two seasons.
Jitesh Sharma in IPL 2024
| Matches | Runs | HS | AVG | SR |
| 8 | 128 | 29 | 16.00 | 125.49 |
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Tough competition for wk-batter’s spot in India team
The wicketkeeper-batter’s spot in the Indian team has fierce competition. With the likes of KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant in the reckoning, A slightly below-par performance can spell doom for Jitesh Sharma. And up till now, he is not doing himself any favours in terms of performances.
