Jitesh Sharma: A freak and free bird whom Vidrabha’s ‘khadoos’ brand of cricket failed to cage | Cricket News

The journey of Jitesh Sharma is one of a kind. For someone who never had a coach, who learnt cricket through YouTube and was in and out of the Vidarbha team because of his flamboyant batting, the wicketkeeper-batsman is finally reaping the rewards for his fearlessness.On Friday evening in Raipur, when India were in a precarious position, the Vidarbha batsman not only forged a game-changing 56-run stand with Rinku Singh but also outscored the southpaw during the partnership. Jitesh scored a 19-ball 35 which included three sixes. It took him only four balls to hit the first six against Chris Green, where he shuffled across like Suryakumar Yadav and launched it over deep square leg.
Ranjit Paradkar, former Vidarbha captain, recalls how continuously for a week before the Asian Games, Jitesh had worked on that shot.
“He watches Surya’s batting more than Surya himself. He wanted to hit that shot over square leg and fine leg. At VCA, he trained for that particular shot over a week before going to the Asian Games,” Paradkar tells The Indian Express.
Guwahati: Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav plays a shot during the 3rd T20 cricket match between India and Australia, at the ACA (Assam Cricket Association) Stadium in Guwahati, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra)
Before going to the Asiad, Jitesh Sharma admitted that he binge-watched Suryakumar Yadav’s batting videos and was working on his 360 game. I am just trying to observe Suryakumar Yadav. Main unke jitna skillful nahi hoon (I am not as skillful as him). But I am watching his videos on how he manipulates the field, and how he plays those risk-free shots. I am just trying to learn from his batting. Everyone has a different skill set. I am just trying to explore my game and make it 360,” he had told this newspaper.
The 30-year-old is one of the few finishers in the circuit. He has proven that in the IPL for Punjab Kings over the last couple of seasons. In IPL 2022, he scored 234 in 12 outings with a strike rate of 163.63. He made sure that he is not a one-season-wonder, scoring 309 runs at a strike rate of 156.06. All the runs have come while batting at No. 5 or lower.
“At Kings, captain Shikhar and the coaching staff have given him a clear role clarity. That is the reason we can see the calmness in the execution of his shots. Be it the first ball or the last ball, he is ready to take on the bowlers. The cameo showed that the role clarity has done wonders to him. The same thing goes for Rinku for what UP and KKR have given to him. It is clearly visible,” says Joshi, who is currently the coach of the Uttar Pradesh team.
“Jitesh has prepared very well for that, and the team management has made him prepare for that. Execution may happen or may not happen but preparation is something one can’t compromise with. He is in a comfortable mindset. He looked relaxed,” adds Joshi.
Jitesh’s Ranji Trophy captain Faiz Fazal calls him a freak, while for Paradkar he is a free bird. But both of them agreed on the fact that Vidrabha’s khadoos brand of cricket failed to cage him.
“I will take you a little back. When he was playing junior cricket and whatever I saw off him, he used to score big runs. But I don’t know what happened to him. It was his technical flaws or you can question the mentality, he couldn’t make the impact for the senior team,” recalls Faiz.
“He is a freak. He is very raw. He is a bizarre boy but was always very talented. He was always good in white ball cricket. He could smack sixes at will. A very impactful player and always an unbelievable wicketkeeper. Even now I think he is the best wicketkeeper in the country,” says Fazal.
Jitesh Sharma in nets for Mumbai Indians. (MI)
Jitesh is an IPL champion; he won the trophy with Mumbai Indians in 2017. He never got to play any match, but that two-year stint brought a change in his cricket. He realised that being an opener is not going to get him recognition and at the age of 24, he decided to change his game and started batting in the middle order.
“He is a free bird, not easy to be caged. He will never len to the coaches. His mantra has always been, ‘you need runs, I will score it my way. If you need 50, I will hit it in 30 balls, I don’t need to play 100 balls. Few backed him, few didn’t. He was trying to improve and improvise. He was evolving with the team, while we were more focused in four days of cricket, the solid technique, playing in the V, and building innings. Now, when I am a coach, I can see where he was coming from,” laughs Paradkar.
Fazal says his former opening partner always had an X factor but the hunger to excel came when he spent time in that star-studded Mumbai Indians dressing room.
“When you get a few more opportunities. As a player, you always believe in yourself. At MI, they had four keepers, including Jitesh. Jos Buttler, Parthiv Patel and Nicholas Pooran were there. In a country like India, you need to have that luck and be at the right place at the right time. That luck part came into his career when he joined the Punjab Kings. The Kings’ template of going after the opposition suited his style of play and he is getting rewarded now,” explains Faiz.
“He has got that X factor. He is very chirpy but at the same time very organic as well. He never compromised on his way of playing. Every season he will come with a new stance and new grip. It was very difficult to understand him. There was always a madness in Jitesh’s batting, but now the method is clearer,” says Faiz.
Faiz recalls a funny incident when Jitesh got hit wicket in a Vijay Hazare match against Uttar Pradesh in 2014. No one saw it except him and he went on to score his maiden L A hundred.
“We were playing in Jaipur against Uttar Pradesh. Jitesh pulled Piyush (Chawla), the ball went to deep mid-wicket, and in the way got hit wicket. He realised it immediately, and I had no clue. Everyone was watching the ball including the bowler, keeper and slip. When I reached the other end I thought the keeper must have hit the stumps, and with a finesse, I just put the bails on it. No one saw it. Jitesh went to score a century,” laughs Faiz.