He was been dropped from India's squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup and was replaced by Rishabh Pant.
Wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma was among the notable omission from India’s squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup, which the Rohit Sharma-led side went on to win in June. Jitesh had endured a forgettable outing in the home T20I series against Afghanistan earlier that year.
He registered scores of 31 and 0 in the first two matches of that series before losing his spot to Sanju Samson in the third T20I. He eventually lost his spot in the T20 World Cup as Rishabh Pant made his international comeback. Whereas, Sanju Samson was included in the squad as a backup wicketkeeper.
Jitesh recently spoke exclusively to CricXtasy during a podcast episode and reflected on missing out on a spot in the squad for the T20 World Cup. He, however, said that his batting had nothing to do with his omission from the squad.
“My batting had nothing to do with the poor run in IPL 2024. The real reason was that I was very close to being selected for the World Cup squad and that thought played with my mind. Frankly speaking, I don’t usually think like that. My mindset is always to focus on one game at a time and perform well. But humans make mistakes. I’m not exceptional. It happens to everyone. And at that time, my mind was fixated on representing India at the World Cup”, Jitesh shared.
He revealed that he was unable to play his natural game because he put “unnecessary pressure” on himself.
“I put unnecessary pressure on myself. And because of that, I didn’t play my natural game. I started chasing something that wasn’t in my control instead of focusing on what was. In the 2024 season, I played a bit cautiously, but I was still batting well, hitting sixes”, he added.
Jitesh expressed his happiness for Pant and appreciated him for making a comeback in the national team. The southpaw suffered multiple injuries during a horrific car accident in December 2022. Pant underwent multiple surgeries and intense rehabilitation before making his competitive comeback with Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024.
“Frankly speaking, I was very happy for Rishabh Pant because what he has been through and how he made a comeback is incredible. His courage, his resilience—it’s inspiring.”
He clarified his thoughts on any comparisons with Pant.
“I don’t think about other players. At that time, my focus was on how I could make it to the World Cup squad. That thought process affected me a bit, but not what others were doing. We are all players—everyone has to score runs to earn their place,” he stated.
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Jitesh, one of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) newest recruits for IPL 2025, said that he would pick the same squad had he been the national selector.
“If I were a selector, I would have picked the same team they chose for 2024. It was well-deserved. Rishabh and Sanju were in great form. Their job is to pick the best team to win the World Cup, not to select players just to make someone happy. I think they made the best decisions.”
When asked if the team management communicated to him behind his omission, Jitesh gave a fitting answer.
He said, “I think some things don’t need to be said explicitly. You understand them yourself. If you perform, you stay in the mix. If you don’t, you fall behind. These are unspoken realities every cricketer knows.”
Jitesh recalled the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup between India and South Africa. South Africa needed 30 runs to win from 30 balls. That equation was further reduced to 16 runs from the last six balls.
However, a catch from Suryakumar Yadav to dismiss David Miller in the final over changed the game and India won the T20 World Cup. Jitesh hailed the then skipper, Rohit Sharma, pacer Arshdeep Singh (17 wickets in the tournament) as well as Player of the Tournament Jasprit Bumrah (15 wickets).
“I was watching it (final of T20WC 2024) for Arshdeep and Rohit Bhai. I really wanted Rohit Bhai to win the World Cup, and I wanted Arsh to perform well. At first, I turned off the TV! When there were around 30 balls left and 30 runs needed and Klaasen was hitting everything, I literally turned off the TV. But my wife kept saying, “Just watch, just watch, just one more over!” So, after one over, I switched it back on, and I started to feel like, okay, maybe there’s still a chance,” he reminisced.
“Then Arsh (Arshdeep) bowled that brilliant 19th over, and the game completely turned. And then Bumrah bhai finished it off,” the Vidarbha cricketer added.
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