Punjab Kings announced a new vice-captain during the captain's photoshoot ahead of the Indian Premier League 2024. The rising Indian youngster Jitesh Sharma has been named deputy to Shikhar Dhawan for the IPL 2024 on Thursday, March 21.
"Presenting the 9 captains with PBKS being represented by vice-captain Jitesh Sharma," IPL's X post said.
Chennai Super Kings revealed Ruturaj Gaikwad as their new leader for the IPL 2024, replacing legendary MS Dhoni. Six teams are entering the IPL 2024 with new captains as the cash-rich league takes a big step towards the future.
Jitesh, 30, joined Punjab Kings during the IPL 2022 mega auction and was quickly established as the first-choice wicketkeeper at the franchise. Jitesh Sharma enjoyed a breakout season in IPL 2023 where he scored 309 runs in 14 innings at an impressive strike rate of 156.06.
Jitesh earned his maiden international cap for the men's senior team in the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou. Jitesh was also part of India's latest T20Is against Afghanistan and is in contention for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 spot and his performances in the upcoming 17th edition of the IPL will be very crucial.
Sam Curran, who arrived at PBKS in 2023 for a then-record price of IRN 18.50 crore, took leadership duties in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan in three matches last season. Shikhar, 38, is expected to step down as a captain in the next one or two seasons and Jitesh's promotion to deputy role hints at the franchise's future plans for the wicketkeeper from Vidarbha.
PBKS updated squad for IPL 2024: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Jitesh Sharma (vc &wk), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Shivam Singh, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Shashank Singh, Prince Choudhary, Tanay Thyagarajan, Rilee Rossouw.
