"I am a pretty straightforward person," Jitesh Sharma, the Indian wicketkeeper batter told India TV in a candid chat. Now, straightforward could mean many things, for Jitesh, it is being practical. At 30, turning 31 in a few hours, Jitesh might be a late bloomer of sorts, however, not just on the field, but off it as well, he has had enough life experience not to hold a grudge against anyone. So be it the T20 World Cup squad selection or the team for the Zimbabwe series, Jitesh was aware of where he stood in terms of his competition and what he needed to do to be back in the reckoning.
It all began in the IPL for Jitesh, who was around the discussions for the T20 World Cup squad and he admitted that he was in the scheme of things and probably was thinking too much about it. "When the IPL started, I was thinking a lot about the World Cup and maybe that's why I wasn't able to focus much on the given match," Jitesh said. And the Vidarbha stumped had no ounce of regret in keeping his World Cup ambitions above anything else, because it's still the dream, isn't it?
The World Cup selection that wasn't
"Obviously, for the first time, I was so close for the World Cup [selection]. I am not ashamed to accept it. It is what it is," Jitesh added. "I couldn't think clearly because the World Cup selection was so much on my mind. The moment the team was picked, my batting got much better. Then I got more free in my head since I knew I wasn't in the team because I knew I had to focus and score runs and hence I was able to play 2-3 good knocks towards the end of the tournament."
Before India's T20 World Cup squad announcement, Jitesh's best was 29 in eight innings with five scores between 10-30. And even though he ended the tournament on a high, smashing an unbeaten 32 off 15 while captaining Punjab Kings against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, it was too late. But Jitesh said he had become calmer by then.
Being pragmatic
Here too, Jitesh was pragmatic and self-aware enough to concede that Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson were the right candidates to get selected for the T20 World Cup at that point. "If I was a selector, I wouldn't have picked myself at that moment because Rishabh had come back and proved himself and the form Sanju bhai was in, I wouldn't have picked myself. I too would have preferred those two only."
And since he was overthinking about the World Cup selection which eventually didn't happen, it affected his IPL and further opportunities, the next being the Zimbabwe series. Ask Jitesh, how he took it, he had a response for that too. "As a player, you always have expectations of getting picked wherever the team plays. So naturally, I also expected it but I was fine with it because I know I had an up-and-down season in the IPL and the team is also trying a few youngsters. So I don't have any grudges in that regard."
I haven't received a single phone call from Punjab. Let alone call, I haven't gotten even a missed call from them.
'I know, I haven't justified my talent yet'
At this stage of life, Jitesh just wants opportunities because he hasn't been able to utilise the ones in the past. "Not yet, with the calibre I have, I have not been able to justify [my talent in the chances so far] it fully in international cricket. There have been glimpses of it but not the way I should have."
Being in India blue again, he considered himself lucky to make a comeback to the side and now he doesn't want to let that opportunity go. He is trying to widen his game and horizons but to win the games for India. The last time Jitesh played for India, the team management was a different one under the head coach Rahul Dravid. With Gautam Gambhir in charge of the proceedings now, there would be a shift in the messaging as well, even if just a wee bit.
"In my first interaction with Gauti [Gambhir] bhai, he cleared it up that in this team we have to play selfless cricket. We have to play to win. He didn't give me much clarity regarding my role but he told me 'you have to play here the way you have been playing and your main priority should be how to make the team win, the personal goals will come follow'," Jitesh said regarding the communication from the team management.
But do selection criteria care about match situations or the impact? Because when it comes to picking a squad, how many runs a particular player scored or didn't eventually matter. "anything less than a fifty is considered a failure" - even Sanju Samson, who had to prove by slamming a century that he belongs, had this to say.
Then how should a player, who is batting in the middle order, sometimes even lower than that prove his credentials? Jitesh had a solution. Don't judge someone batting that deep in the order and is getting only limited balls to play every time by how many he is scoring but by the parameter of how many he be scoring but if those are helping the team to win or not.
"I don't think you can judge the middle-order players by their runs. How close the batter has taken his team to a win or if he helped the team win, the one who probably becomes the difference between win and loss, a middle-order batter should be judged on those aspects only," Jitesh said while mentioning that batting in the middle-order is both a boon and a bane.
The journey from just being a hitter to becoming a match-winner
So now that he is back in the squad and probably in the scheme of things for the South Africa T20I series in November as well, Jitesh is just trying to keep things simple with an aim to change the perception of him from being just a hitter to becoming a match winner. "I am trying to keep things very simple. I am looking to middle as many balls as I can. In South Africa, there's a bit of bounce, so I am trying to practice according to that on concrete wickets with tennis and plastic balls. Currently, the way I play, I am trying to widen my horizons and explore what more I can do.
"People know that 'Jitesh Sharma hits well', but I want this to change to 'if Jitesh Sharma plays, he will finish the match'," he added. Jitesh already has one eye on the auction and seemed pretty confident even though he did mention that there has been no communication from Punjab Kings at this point.
Captaincy
This year, Jitesh also got to captain in the IPL. Jitesh believes in 'suno sab ki, karo mann ki' - listen to everyone and then filter out what according to him is the best option in that situation. However, having played under the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma, he has enjoyed the most playing under India's current T20I captain because of the ease of communication.
"There's so much to learn," when asked about his experience of playing under all three of them. "All three have very different personalities but I think Surya bhai is a combination of Rohit bhai and Shikhar bhai. For eg., I fear a bit of Rohit bhai as a junior and I think that's natural, especially when it comes to talking to seniors. Shikhar bhai, on the other hand, is very lively, relaxed and chill. Surya bhai is bang in the middle of both of them. I have mostly enjoyed playing under Surya bhai because communication is easier with him, you can talk to him very freely. Even if he says something to you, you listen to him."
With Sanju Samson sealing his place as the wicketkeeper batter, the opportunities for others might be less but Jitesh Sharma doesn't want to stop. He is looking to evolve constantly and maybe if an opportunity arises in South Africa, he can deliver on the 'if Jitesh Sharma plays, he wins the match for the team' promise.
