He has made 128 runs in eight innings so far.
Amid the topsy-turvy decision and suspension of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, the franchises have begun sending their players back home. In a video released by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) today, some surprising news was released. Ahead of the IPL suspension, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar succumbed to a wrist injury. Among the pre-match updates shared by RCB last week, Patidar’s arm was covered with a splint. As a result, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma was slated to captain RCB for their Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) fixture at the Ekana Stadium on May 9.
In the video, Jitesh spoke about how he was looking forward to leading RCB in their upcoming fixture.
He said, “I was very grateful for the opportunity given to me. They were giving me an opportunity to captain RCB and it’s a very big thing for me and my family. I was thinking of what the right combination would be because both, Devdutt [Padikkal] and Rajat were not available and it was a big responsibility to replace them. And as per the position we were on the points table, we would have won this game. All of this was going on in my head and all the meetings with coaches and players in those 2-3 days, batting order, discussions with bowlers. I had good fun.”
Watch the full video here:
𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵! 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘴. 🫡
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 10, 2025
Happy memories from the season so far, but the dream is yet to be complete… we’ll be back, 12th Man… pic.twitter.com/rjLPTI1tDy
With this video update, the RCB franchise has also made clear that the nation comes first.
Patidar quotes, “This is the right decision taken, to pause the IPL because the country comes first. Whenever BCCI reschedules it, we’ll be ready.”
As per the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, IPL may not be resumed for another week. Subsequently, Patidar may be fit by then, and this may be a lost chance for Jitesh to lead the RCB this season.
In the eight games he batted for RCB, Jitesh has made 128 runs at a strike rate of 142.22. He has often been useful with blazing cameos in the lower middle-order. He has also kept wickets for the team.
In 2024, Jitesh had led Punjab Kings in their last league match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He was unbeaten after a 15-ball 32 to push the total to 214. However, Punjab lost their last game and finished ninth on the points table.
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In an exclusive podcast with Cricxtasy ahead of the start of the IPL 2025 season, The Vidarbha player had shared his honest thoughts on captaining a franchise like RCB.
WATCH THE FULL EPISODE ON CRICXTASY YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Jitesh said, “No, I never thought about it [captaincy]. Frankly speaking, I never even considered that I was being looked at for captaincy. If I were in RCB management, I would have chosen Rajat too—he deserves it. He is RCB’s guy and has done service for them for years now. I just joined now. I can help as a senior, since Rajat and I both belong to the Central Zone and have played cricket together. We already have a strong bond. And all the Indian players in RCB will support him as well.”
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