Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 9 (ANI): Jitesh Sharma has credited his recent T20 resurgence to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) mentor Dinesh Karthik, who believes the wicketkeeper-batter has the potential to evolve into a genuine 360-degree player.
“It’s been a great journey till now because in the off-season, I really worked hard with him,” Jitesh said at the pre-match press conference, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
“I think the whichever shot which I am playing right now is the replica of what he used to play. He is trying to create a new player in me, because he believes that I can play 360 degrees. I am really enjoying myself in this new role,” he added.
One of the things that excites Jitesh the most is executing shots he once believed were beyond his range, something he attributes to the team’s consistent backing. On Monday, he showcased his evolution with a blistering unbeaten 40 off 19 balls, powering RCB’s death overs surge and playing a decisive role in their 12-run win.
“While I am playing those shots, I am very happy [with the execution] because I have never tried those shots,” he said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
“And I am going to execute thanks to all the backing they give me. It’s been a wonderful journey which I am still excited about,” he added.
Jitesh’s transformation has its roots in the off-season, where he attended two high-performance camps led by Karthik and head coach Andy Flower in January and February.
“My confidence doesn’t rely on the score. It always depends on my process and how I train in my practice,” he said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
“Because if I have confidence in the end result, then the variables can go up and down. So I mostly keep my confidence high in the practice only,” he added.
His impressive run with RCB this season has been a major boost to his young career. In contrast, last year, he managed 187 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 131.
“I think last year’s performance was my mental thing,” he said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
“I was not mentally in the game at that moment. I was thinking about future things. But right now, when I met Dinesh [Karthik] bhai, he told me that it’s a human error. It’s not rocket science. It does happen to everyone so it’s fine,” he added.
“When he saw my batting, the way I bat, how I try to dominate, how I look to take the game forward… I am someone who always looks for the win. I don’t have the craze to take out runs. I have the craze to win matches. He saw and found out there are some shots that are still lacking [in his game], and we’ve started working on that. We are still in the process,” he added.
This season, however, Jitesh has emerged as a standout finisher, providing much-needed firepower to RCB’s lower middle order. He is one of just seven batters alongside teammates Rajat Patidar and Tim David to average over 40 while maintaining a strike rate above 150. Reflecting on his surge in form, Jitesh emphasised that it all stems from a well-structured process developed and nurtured behind the scenes.
“I think we are playing very smart cricket,” he said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
“It’s not like we are just going and bashing every bowler [recklessly]. We know everyone’s strengths in the batting line-up and the team management has given a proper role. Like Jitesh Sharma will go after certain bowlers, Phil Salt will go after some. That’s the kind of strategy we have. So we are going very smartly. We are not trying to dominate blindly,” he added. (ANI)
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