How Jitesh Sharma is losing the race to make India's T20 World Cup squad

Things are not going well for Punjab Kings (PBKS) batter Jitesh Sharma in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). Jitesh might be in contention to make the India squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup, but at the moment that looks difficult. In the five matches he has played this IPL season, Jitesh has managed just 77 runs at a strike-rate of 135.09, with highest score of 27 coming against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) during his team’s second match of the season. Since then, Jitesh, who is considered a “finisher” among some, has not been able to do so and has endured scores of 6, 16 and 19.

So, what next for Jitesh?

Jitesh Sharma is in a tough spot in the race for the 2024 T20 World Cup not just because of his poor form, but also the Rishabh Pant factor. Pant returned to competitive cricket after 15 months and has had a decent start.

Despite a disappointing outing against Punjab Kings, where he scored a 13-ball 18, Pant has since then gone onto score two fifties (against Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders) and has struck at 154.54 this season. He has scored 153 runs from five matches so far and while there’s still a long way to go in the tournament, Pant seems to be playing with confidence.

Read | Sourav Ganguly says Rishabh Pant will need some more time before he’s ready for T20 World Cup

Sanju Samson, too, has made a strong case for selection with 178 runs from four matches at a strike-rate of 150.84. With Samson and Pant displaying form early on, Jitesh has gone down the pecking order.

Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull feels that Jitesh is far from sealing the spot in the T20 World Cup squad. Barring a few knocks against Australia and Afghanistan, Jitesh’s T20I career has not got off to a flying start just yet. On Tuesday against SRH, Jitesh scored 19 runs off 11 balls, including a four and a six, but holed out to Abhishek Sharma in the deep off Nitish Reddy’s bowling.

“His international form tapered off, didn’t he. Good start, five, six, seven, eight games. Decent start, but his international form tapered off as well. Maybe he is becoming a little bit one-dimension. Just a little bit. You still got to give yourself a little bit to get on. I know today wasn’t a prime example to do that but, I have still seen when he has come in and still when there is time, just goes on a little bit too hard,” Doull said on Cricbuzz.

Doull feels the 30-year-old has to work on his shot timing, and added that he still does not see Jitesh heading to the T20 World Cup just yet. “He is a better player than just a slogger. He is a far better batter and I have seen him bat properly than just a slogger. Maybe he just needs to find some timing early on, maybe just keep the ball along the ground. Those are the things that will play in his mind.  He’ll desperately want to get on that plane (For T20 World Cup). He still hasn’t got that boarding pass according to me,” stated Doull.

Simply put, Jitesh will have to work on improving his shot selection, placement and timing and while one would hope a few good performances would do Jitesh some good, nothing is certain just yet, thanks to the intense competition for the wicketkeeper-batter’s slot.

PBKS, sixth in the standings with four points, next take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Saturday.