"It doesn’t matter if the size of the boundary is 40m or 400m"- Jitesh Sharma on India debut during Asian Games 2023

After impressive performances in domestic cricket as well as in the IPL, Jitesh Sharma received his maiden India call-up in January 2023 for the T20Is against Sri Lanka. However, he had to wait several months before finally making his international debut in the men's cricket event at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

The tours of Ireland and the West Indies passed by but Jitesh still had to wait for his opportunity. It is natural for any player who has performances under his belt to feel a bit disheartened. However, Jitesh continued to remain patient and finally got that cap against Nepal earlier this month.

Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, Jitesh Sharma explained how he focuses only on the controllable and doesn't think too much about whether the opportunity could have come his way sooner. He said:

"I never thought a lot about waiting for my debut. My life has always been uncertain and I could always wait for my opportunity. I still got to go to an overseas tour with the team and learned a lot from the culture. I was really happy when I made my debut in China and was delighted that my debut came in a unique cricketing culture."

Quite a few eyebrows were raised when the men's cricket event in the Asian Games was recognized as international cricket by the ICC. Many even questioned the short boundaries for the event and felt that it shouldn't have been counted as T20Is.

However, Jitesh Sharma gave the perspective of the players and explained how special the likes of himself felt to have finally received that India cap that he had worked so hard for. He added:

"As a cricketer it doesn’t matter if you play in China, Zimbabwe, Belgium or Germany. For a cricketer, the sport matters. It doesn’t matter if the size of the boundary is 40 m or 400 m. Even if the cricketer represents his country in gully cricket, he will still be proud the hard work that he puts in to reach the India cap. It comes as a flashback in in front of their eyes and that is exactly exactly what happened with me when I got the cap. It doesn’t matter how big or small the boundary was. We got the gold for India and we care about playing cricket."

Jitesh got to bat just once in the tournament, against Nepal where he scored five runs. Although he was dismissed cheaply, the wicketkeeper was true to his aggressive brand of cricket, trying to hit boundaries and sixes from the get-go.

This has been the fearless mindset that has brought Jitesh Sharma laurels and he has no regrets about following it at the highest level. He opined:

"I always believe that I should stick to the mindset that has brought me to this level. If I reach the moment and then don’t express myself, then it will be like a betrayal. It is the way of cricket that I have played that has brought me to a level where I could represent India. So while playing for India if I change my approach how long do you think I would survive. Whether I play in India, in Australia or China, I should always be honest to my approach and how I have played the game."

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Jitesh Sharma on VVS Laxman and Ruturaj Gaikwad

India had a new captain in Ruturaj Gaikwad and coach in the legendary VVS Laxman for the Asian Games assignment and Jitesh Sharma hailed the duo for the kind of team culture they had built during the tournament.

On this, he stated:

"VVS sir and Ruturaj had created an outstanding environment for us players. Every player had freedom to express their ideas and as a team, we were focusing on the process and were high on spirits. We had a camp of 10 to 12 days before the tournament and it was so good that we were confident we will win gold. VVS sir was very approachable, and I could speak openly about my game and ask where I need to make improvements."

Jitesh Sharma hit the ground running for Vidarbha in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, smashing 51 off just 18 balls and helping them thump Uttarakhand on Monday.