'Everything Starts After Dhoni': Jitesh Sharma Learning the 'Art of Handling Pressure' from MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni might have retired from international cricket but the former India skipper still remains to be an inspiration for the upcoming and budding wicketkeepers. That’s why, it did not come as a surprise when wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma, after securing his maiden national call-up, hailed World Cup-winning skipper Dhoni. Jitesh, who was in the Team India squad for the second ODI against Sri Lanka, revealed that he still watches old videos of Dhoni to hone his wicket-keeping skills.

“In India, everything starts after MS Dhoni, so there is no need to even say how inspiring he has been for every cricketer including me. He has always been so incredible with his glovework. In my off-time I try and watch his videos to understand how he handles pressure, takes the game deep or targets particular bowlers. By God’s grace if I get a chance to interact with him in person, will definitely try to learn a lot more from him,” Jitesh Sharma said during an interaction with Sports Yaari.

Jitesh Sharma earned his maiden call-up to the India squad after Sanju Samson was ruled out of the second T20I against Sri Lanka due to a knee injury. Samson hurt his knee while fielding during the opening T20I against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Jitesh Sharma made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Punjab Kings last season and the Maharashtra-born wicketkeeper has so far played 12 matches in the tournament. Previously, he was roped in by Mumbai Indians for Rs 10 lakh at the IPL 2016 auction. However, he failed to feature in the playing XI for the five-time IPL winners even once.

The Punjab-based franchise signed Jitesh Sharma at his base price of Rs 20 lakh. The 29-year-old has till now scored 234 runs at a strike rate of 163.64. Jitesh, who often played the finisher’s role in limited-over cricket, was retained by the Punjab Kings franchise ahead of the IPL 2023 mini-auction.

Jitesh also had a terrific Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last season after notching 224 runs in 10 games at a strike rate of 175.00. In first-class cricket, Jitesh has so far scored 553 runs after playing 16 matches. The Vidarbha cricketer has three half-centuries to his name in this format.

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