Before emerging as a key player for Punjab Kings, Jitesh spent two seasons in Mumbai Indians camp. While he did not get an opportunity to take the field, the right-hand batter learnt the trade from some of the game’s most prominent faces in practice sessions during those years.
In one such preparatory session, MI skipper Rohit Sharma got his arm around young Jitesh and told him to focus more on timing the ball rather than belting it to all corners. Rohit asked the batter to not lose shape in his strokes while incorrectly attempting to take the leather out of it.
“I was trying to hit hard in the nets there. Rohit came up to me and asked me to use the pace of the ball. I remember that advice till today. You know, when a bowler is bowling at 135/145kmph, he asked me to time the ball and divert it towards the part of the field I was targeting. I didn’t need to add any more speed to it than what it carried.”
Jitesh told PBKS’ website.
Sharma was with MI in the 2016 and 2017 editions of the Indian Premier League but got his maiden IPL game only this season with PBKS. Coincidentally, his best effort for the 2022 season came against his former franchise as he blasted an unbeaten 30 off 15 balls in his team’s important victory in Pune.
A fine aggressor down the order, Jitesh had earlier played useful cameos of 26 off 17 versus Chennai Super Kings and 23 off 11 against Gujarat Titans, respectively. The 28-year-old has a season strike-rate of 183.72 after three notable innings.
Speaking further on Rohit’s influence, Jitesh said he loves watching the Indian stalwart bat, so much so that he would watch his batting videos before stepping onto the park and take learnings and inspiration from his game.
