Not MS Dhoni! Jitesh Sharma reveals his wicket-keeping idol: ‘Inspired by how he would catch the ball’ | Cricket News

Jitesh Sharma and MS Dhoni (Photo Credits: Screengrab/BCCI)

NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Jitesh Sharma credited former Australian legend Adam Gilchrist for his inclination in direction of wicketkeeping.
In a video posted by IPL on their social media platform, the 31-year-old wicketkeeper-batter defined the significance of a robust method with the gloves, together with correct squatting and foot positioning.
Jitesh additionally admitted that he focuses on conserving his shoulder and knee aligned like a field, guaranteeing that his physique is all the time in a defensive place.
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“I think this love for wicketkeeping is because of Adam Gilchrist. The way he used to keep the ball so easily, the way he used to catch the ball, I was very inspired by that. In wicket keeping, there are some basics like Squat position and ball of the feet. These are some thumb rules,” Jitesh Sharma mentioned, as quoted by ANI.
“But for me, I always try that my shoulder and my knee should be like a box. Whenever I move, I should move like a box. If my head is near the ball, automatically my body will be behind it. So, my second line of defence will be active. I should be close to it. Like I am throwing the ball far away. So, I should go like this and catch the ball rather than like this.”
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Initially purchased by the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2016 public sale, Jitesh was then retained in 2017.
However, he did not get an opportunity to play in a single match.
He was as soon as once more bought in the IPL 2022 by Punjab Kings, the place he made his identify as a damaging finisher.
Jitesh scored 234 runs at a strike price of 163.64 in IPL 2022 and continued with a exceptional season in 2023, scoring 309 runs at a strike price of 156.06.

As a decrease middle-order batter, his small match-winning performances throughout IPL earned him his T20I debut in opposition to Nepal in October at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Ahead of IPL 2025, RCB purchased him for Rs 11 crore.
In 4 matches to date, he has aggregated 85 runs with a median of 42.50 and a strike price of 184.
RCB will tackle Delhi Capitals in the twenty fourth match of the IPL 2025 on Thursday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.