IPL 2022: Who is Jitesh Sharma, the Punjab Kings wicket-keeper who shone in the CSK v PBKS game?
Punjab Kings trumped Chennai Super Kings in the 11th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday (April 3). While Liam Livingstone won the Player of the Match for his all-round contribution, another player who hogged the limelight was debutant Jitesh Sharma who scored a sparkling 26 off 17 deliveries and then impressed many with his wicket keeping as well.
He also plucked a very good catch behind the stumps to send back Ambati Rayudu and then insisted Mayank Agarwal take a successful review for a caught-behind dismissal against MS Dhoni. However, not many were aware of Jitesh Sharma before he showcased his skills in the game against CSK.
Let us know more about Jitesh Sharma:
Jitesh Sharma plays for Vidarbha in domestic cricket. He was picked by Punjab Kings at the IPL 2022 mega auction for his base price of INR 20 lakh.
Jitesh was always known for his aggressive batting and made it to Vidarbha’s senior team during the 2013-14 season after impressive performances in the 2012-13 Cooch Behar Trophy. He made his List A and T20 debut in February and March 2014 respectively.
It didn’t take time for him to leave his mark as he was the third highest run-getter in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2015-16 scoring 343 at a strike-rate of more than 140. He had also scored a century and two fifties that season.
WATCH: Liam Livingstone grabs stunning one-handed catch off his own bowling
Jitesh is predominantly known for his heroics in white-ball cricket. He has featured in 41 List A matches scoring 1266 runs at an average of 34.21 with seven fifties and two hundreds. When it comes to T20 cricket, the man transforms his batting completely having amassed 1355 runs in 52 innings at a strike-rate of 142.03 which is excellent. On the back of his performance, Mumbai Indians signed him for his base price of INR 10 lakh in the IPL 2016 auction but didn’t get a game.
However, he hogged limelight in the SMAT 2021-22 season earlier this year when Jitesh played the role of a finisher for his side. He smashed 214 runs at an unreal strike-rate of 235.16 in six innings hitting a total of 18 sixes in seven innings and also remained unbeaten on three occasions. Looking at his impressive show, PBKS signed him in the auction and the 28-year-old didn’t disappoint in his debut game.
Jitesh Sharma will now be hoping to continue with his good work behind the stumps and with the bat for the rest of the season as well.