Jitesh Sharma talks about the most important batting lesson learned by Rohit Sharma [Exclusive]

Jitesh, who was unfortunately left out of India’s 2026 T20 World Cup squad, has gone from strength to strength as far as his power-hitting game is concerned. He was also a vital part of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s title-winning campaign in IPL 2025, registering 261 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 176.35.

Jitesh also spoke about the batters whose game plans he admired and gave an extensive list of former and current players. He also spoke about his feelings during his representation India and his opinion that more often than not he is a backup goalkeeper to Sanju Samson.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q) You have said that you learned a lot from Rohit Sharma. What is the biggest lesson you learned from him?

I went to talk to him personally. He said he understood that my batting position requires me to take big risks, but it’s about giving yourself four or five balls; you can dominate the game at any time afterwards.

Q) Among current or former Indian legends, whose batting style do you admire the most and why?

Kevin Pietersen, Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav. Adam Gilchrist is my idol because of his batting and goalkeeping skills.

Q) For most of your international career you played as second choice goalkeeper for Samson. Your opinion on that?

At the end of the day, it’s about representing Team India and that’s a very proud feeling. But if I am the second choice goalkeeper, I will work hard to become the first choice. That’s the only mentality I have because the No. 1 goalkeeper also represents Team India.

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