Punjab Kings' promising batter Jitesh Sharma remains positive despite missing India's T20I squad for the upcoming West Indies series. Jitesh was tipped to make his international debut on the West Indies tour after impressive performances in Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL).
The 29-year-old wicketkeeper batter first came under the limelight during IPL 2022 where he recorded 234 runs in just 10 innings at a strike rate of 163.63. He earned a national team call-up for Sri Lanka and New Zealand series this year but was not able to make his debut despite first-choice wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant being on the sidelines due to injury.
Jitesh featured in all 14 IPL games for Punjab this year and scored 309 runs in 14 IPL 2023 innings at a strike rate of 156.06. His name was taking rounds in the media for West Indies T20Is but the Indian management went ahead with Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson. When asked about his feelings about getting ignored for the West Indies tour, Jitesh said that he is not thinking much about the future and will keep his expectations under control.
"God has a bigger plan for me. Frankly speaking, I don't think much about the future. As a human, I have expectations but I try to keep them under control. Right now, my sole focus is on my fitness and skills and how to keep it at prime," Jitesh said in an interview with cricket.com.
Jitesh was part of India's last two T20I series and was dropped from the team without getting a single chance to showcase his worth. However, he revealed that he learned a lot and enjoyed his time with the national team.
"It was a great learning process. You are 28-29, but you still want to learn. When you go to the highest level, you still feel incomplete and have so many things to learn about the game. So it was very thrilling. I was so keen to go there, in the nets, in the warm-up, everywhere. I was so excited. I am someone who never gets tense. I always enjoy the pressure, so it was a very good experience and I think I enjoyed it a lot there," Jitesh added.
