“On what he wanted to work ..”

RCB wicket-keeper batter Jitesh Sharma is set to return to the Indian team after a gap of a year, after some scintillating performances in the IPL 2025, where his side also won their maiden tournament. He too played a crucial role, and ended up having the best season ever. The 31-year-old scored 261 runs in 15 matches, at an average of 37 and a strike-rate of 176.

Jitesh Sharma was not desperate

With his return, RCB batting coach Dinesh Karthik has made some revelations. DK told Cricbuzz, that Jitesh Sharma wasn’t really desperate to play for the Indian team, but wanted to master the skill of finishing matches. “I think he was never someone who was desperate to play for India,” Dinesh Karthik was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

Karthik added, the skill he wanted, to finish games, was always there with Jitesh, but needed to unearth him. “What he wanted to work on was how do I finish a game? How do I get the team to above par? So he was playing a lot of cameos, never knowing how to get that big innings that was required to win a game or take the team far in the first innings. I kind of know what it takes to do that. With the skills he had, there was so much potential that I just needed to unlock it,” Karthik said.

Dinesh Karthik reveals

DK also went on to reveal where Jitesh lagged behind. Perhaps, that too is countered now, from what he showed in IPL 2025. “He was someone who could hit very well down the ground. He had a very good vertical swing. But what he didn’t have too much of was any sort of innovative shots.

“It was almost a taboo because I think wherever he played, everybody had told him that you have so many good shots down the ground. Why would you try and do things behind? You need to try and understand what your strengths are,” he added.