During an exclusive interaction with CricTracker, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma opened up on some crucial batting advice which was shared by former India captain Rohit Sharma. In addition to 16 T20Is, Jitesh has played 18 First-Class, 61 List A and 158 T20s so far.
Jitesh, who unfortunately was not picked up for India's 2026 T20 World Cup squad, has grown from strength to strength as far as his power-hitting game is concerned. He was also a vital component of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's title-winning
campaign in IPL 2025, registering 261 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 176.35.
Jitesh also spoke on the batters whose gameplans he admired and provided an extensive list of former and current players. He also spoke on his sentiments while representing India and his take on more often than not being a backup keeper to Sanju Samson.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q) You’ve said you learned a lot from Rohit Sharma. What’s the biggest lesson you took from him?
I personally went and spoke to him. He said he understood that, because of my batting position, I have to take high risks, but it’s about giving yourself four or five balls; you can dominate the game anytime after that.
Q) Among current or former Indian legends, whose batting style do you admire the most and why?
Kevin Pietersen, Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav. Adam Gilchrist is my idol because of his batting and keeping skills.
Q) For the majority of your international career, you played as a second-choice keeper to Samson. Your thoughts on that?
At the end of the day, it’s about representing Team India, and that’s a very proud feeling. But if I’m the second-choice keeper, I’ll work hard to become the first choice. That’s the only mentality I have, because the No. 1 keeper is also representing Team India.



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