Jitesh Sharma may only be a nine-match old player in international cricket but he is the strongest contender to be India’s wicketkeeper-batter in T20 World Cup 2024. And the reason is not his performance or the lack of performance by other contenders including Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. Instead, it has to do with combination. With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma returning to T20Is, India Cricket Team does not have a place for another top-order batter.
Enter Jitesh Sharma. The 30-year-old is a late bloomer but he has already become one of the most important players in the T20I setup. Even though he has played only 68 deliveries in international cricket after an impressive IPL campaign with Punjab Kings, it’s his batting position that makes things easier for Rahul Dravid and the India team management.
Why is Jitesh Sharma certain?
With Rohit Sharma opening the innings, India are already in a problematic space. They have to drop either Yashasvi Jaiswal or Shubman Gill. There is no place at No 3 as Virat Kohli will be the man to do the job in T20 World Cup 2024.
At No 4, one cannot drop the World No 1 T20 batter Suryakumar Yadav. Hence, Top 4 is sealed. Then, there are Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja — two all-rounders who are crucial to India’s plans.
If Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja both occupy No 5 and No 7 slots, India can only play with one position and that is No 6 or a lower middle-order spot.
There comes Jitesh Sharma. Why? It’s because Ishan Kishan can only bat in Top 3, Sanju Samson hasn’t had a great run at No 5 and there is no Rishabh Pant in the picture. Hence, Jitesh with his explosive array of shots and the role of finisher walks into India Playing XI in T20 World Cup 2024.
“India’s option is probably to have a wicketkeeper who can bat down the order. If you have to bat down the order, you need a destructive batter. The way Jitesh Sharma is playing, he is a very good option and I feel his ticket to the T20 World Cup has started getting printed slightly,” Parthiv Patel said on JioCinema.
In fact, it will be difficult even for Rinku Singh to find a place if India do not drop a pacer from the Playing XI. In that case, Jitesh Sharma will bat at No 7 while Rinku takes up No 5 slot while Hardik bats at No 6. Jadeja will take up the No 8 spot.
