India remained unbeaten right through the Asia Cup to win seven matches on the trot and won the tournament for the record-extending ninth time, beating arch-rivals Pakistan in the final. Rinku Singh smashed the winning runs while playing for the first time in the Asia Cup and it was also his first delivery of the tournament. Overall, India used 14 players in the continental event among the 15-member squad they had announced for the competition. Only Jitesh Sharma was unlucky not to get a single chance throughout the Asia Cup.
The wicketkeeper-batter was sidelined for the entire tournament as India didn't give him a chance, even in the matches against Oman and Sri Lanka, which were the dead rubbers in the context of the tournament. The men in blue handed opportunities to Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh in those two matches, while Rinku could play only due to an injury to Hardik Pandya that ruled him out of the final.
It was unfortunate for Jitesh to warm the bench, but he remains in India's plans for the T20 World Cup, it seems. He did well for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) earlier this year in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and will be looking forward to getting more chances in the upcoming series.
When will India play their next T20I series?
India are next scheduled to play T20Is on the Australia tour when the two teams will lock horns in the five-match series from October 29 to November 8. The squad for the tour is expected to be announced soon with Asia Cup done and dusted now and Jitesh will be hoping to be on the plane down under.
Jitesh Sharma has played nine T20Is for India
Jitesh Sharma last played for India in January 2024 and would be eager for another opportunity with the Indian team. With a good show in IPL 2025, he made a comeback to the squad but India preferred Sanju Samson in the middle-order role during the Asia Cup. The wicketkeeper-batter has played nine matches for India in the shortest format and scored 100 runs at a strike rate of 147.05 with 35 being his best score.
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