Vidharbha, the reigning Ranji trophy champions, is set to lose two of its key players - Karun Nair and Jitesh Sharma ahead of the next domestic season. Both these cricketers have played a vital part in strengthening Vidharbha in the last few years, where the team has done extremely well in all three formats of the game. However, as things stand, Jitesh is set to move to Baroda, while Karun is very likely on his way to rejoin Karnataka.
Notably, Karun has been phenomenal in the Ranji trophy as of late, and courtesy of the same, he was called up for India’s upcoming Test series against England. In the last Ranji season, the 33-year-old scored 863 runs in nine matches and finished as the fourth-leading run-scorer of the season. Even in white-ball cricket, Karun has made significant progress, having scored 779 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy last season and finishing as the leading run-scorer. Courtesy of the same reason, Delhi Capitals signed him ahead of IPL 2025.
Jitesh’s move to Baroda is imminent
According to a report in Cricbuzz, Jitesh is set to complete his transfer to Baroda in the next two days. The keeper-batter captained Vidarbha in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year and played under Karun in the Vijay Hazare. However, he couldn’t make any impact in either of those tournaments, but showed glimpses of his class in the recently concluded IPL.
He played a few match-winning knocks in the cash-rich league, including in the final against Punjab Kings, where the 31-year-old made 24 runs off 10 balls as RCB won the match by six runs. His cameo was very vital in RCB’s win. Meanwhile, when RCB captain Rajat Patidar was out injured, Jitesh filled in as captain. It needs to be seen if he is given the leadership baton in the Baroda team.