IND vs SL 2023: 5 things to know about Jitesh Sharma who has replaced Sanju Samson in the T20I series  

Jitesh Sharma has been added to the Indian T20I squad who are currently partaking in a three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.

Jitesh replaced batter Sanju Samson, who hurt his left knee while attempting to field a ball near the boundary ropes during the opening T20I at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday (January 3).

The BCCI on Wednesday night released a statement which said:

"Samson hurt his left knee while attempting to field a ball near the boundary ropes during the 1st T20I at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai."

"He was taken for scans and a specialist opinion this afternoon in Mumbai by the BCCI Medical Team and has been advised rest and rehabilitation. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Jitesh Sharma as replacement for Sanju Samson."

While Samson will now have to miss out on the ongoing series, it opens the door for another exciting batter in Jitesh Sharma.

Jitesh came into the limelight when he became a mainstay in the Punjab Kings' (PBKS) starting lineup at IPL 2022. The Punjab-based franchise bought him for just ₹20 lakhs at the IPL 2022 mega auction.

The signing proved to be a shrewd one as the Maharashtra-born scored 234 runs at an average of just under 30 and had a strike rate of 163.64 across ten innings.

With his recent call-up to the Indian T20I team, we share five things you need to know about Jitesh Sharma.

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#1 He is a dynamic wicket-keeper

The 29-year-old Jitesh Sharma is a wicket-keeper who is considered a safe house behind the stumps. He even took some terrific catches as a gloveman for PBKS in IPL 2022.

While Ishan Kishan took the wicket-keeping duties in the first T20I, Jitesh will fill the void as the backup wicket-keeper for the Indian team.

However, if Jitesh is handed a debut in either of the two remaining T20Is, he is expected to take the gloves from Kishan.

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#2 Has had one of the best strike rates in domestic T20 circuit in recent times

Born in Amrawati, Maharashtra, Jitesh plies his trade for Vidharbha in domestic cricket. He has been on a roll since 2021, especially in T20s for his domestic team.

Batting lower down the order, Jitesh has proved to be one of the finest finishers in domestic cricket. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021-22, the right-hander struck the highest number of sixes (19), scoring 214 runs across seven innings at an improbable strike rate of 235.16 (best strike rate in the tournament).

In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022, the Vidharbha batter struck 224 runs at a rate of 175 across ten innings.

Jitesh's overall T20 numbers are great as well. In 71 T20 innings, he has amassed 1787 runs at an average of above 30 and a strike rate of 147.93.

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#3 Jitesh Sharma had the best strike as an uncapped player in IPL 2022

Jitesh was one of the many youngsters who impressed everyone with his temperament in IPL 2022. In what was his breakout season with PBKS, the talented batter came up with some clutch knocks last year.

As mentioned earlier, he scored 234 runs at a healthy strike rate of 163.34, which was the best among uncapped players in IPL 2022.

Apart from this, his strike rate was the second-best after Dinesh Karthik in the competition among Indian batters who scored more than 200 runs.

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#4 He won the IPL 2017 with Mumbai Indians

Many people wouldn't be aware of this, but Jitesh Sharma is a former IPL winner. He lifted the coveted title with the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2017 season.

While he didn't get to play, he was part of the Mumbai squad. Jitesh was bought by MI at the IPL 2016 auction for ₹10 lakhs. He was part of the MI camp for two years.

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#5 He can play a wide range of shots

While being a proficient run-getter for some years now, the dashing batter also has a wide range of strokes in his arsenal.

Jitesh Sharma displayed some of his audacious shots while playing for PBKS in last year's edition of the IPL. He impressed everyone with his ability to find boundaries all around the park.

While he can play conventional cricket strokes to score runs in the 'V', Jitesh can also experiment and come up with laps and even reverse-laps at any time of his innings.

His best performance in IPL 2022 came against the Delhi Capitals (DC), when he scored 44 runs off 24 balls while playing a variety of remarkable strokes.