Former Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri is impressed with Punjab Kings’ wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma’s batting prowess in the lower order during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Shastri lauded Sharma for his impressive batting performances and believes that the wicketkeeper-batsman deserves to play for India in the absence of Rishabh Pant.
Sharma has impressed with his hard-hitting abilities in the final overs for his team this season. He has scored 190 runs in nine innings, with an average of 21.11 and an impressive strike rate of 162.39.
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Shastri called Sharma a ‘todu player’, a fantastic player, and one of the best finds in the IPL. The former Indian player also praised Punjab Kings’ skipper Shikhar Dhawan for his intent, which is amazing.
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Sharma made his IPL debut last season against the Chennai Super Kings and scored 234 runs in 12 matches with an average of 29.25 and a strike rate of 163.64. He received his maiden call-up to the Indian team as a replacement for the T20I series against Sri Lanka in January this year but didn’t get a chance to play.
The Punjab Kings are currently in sixth place in the IPL 2023 standings with 10 points, but their net run rate is -0.447, one of the lowest among the other teams. The Kings will take on the Mumbai Indians in their match at the Punjab Cricket Association’s IS Bindra Stadium Tonight.
