Indian wicket-keeper batter Jitesh Sharma finally broke the silence on his snub from the ICC T20 World Cup squad. He revealed that he was unaware of his snub from the Indian team and wasn’t aware of the omission until the official squads were announced.
Jitesh Sharma, the seasoned campaigner from India, has been rising in the shortest format of the game. He has played for India in the shortest format of the game and was recently part of the T20I series vs. Australia and South Africa.
Jitesh made a move to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2025 and played a massive role in their first-ever title win. Jitesh Sharma also led the India A side in the Men’s Emerging Asia Cup as the captain of the side, but failed to qualify for the knockouts.
“I wasn’t aware of my omission until the squad was announced” – Jitesh Sharma
Ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, when India announced their squad for the tournament, wicket-keeper batter Jitesh Sharma was ignored from the 15-member squad for the home World Cup.
Jitesh played for India in the second half of the Australia T20I series and also played all four matches in the South Africa series, but contributed very modestly with the bat. He has also been snubbed from the New Zealand T20I series.
“I wasn’t aware of my omission until the squad was announced. After that, I agreed with the explanation given by the selectors in the press conference; it was a valid reason. Later, I had discussions with the coaches and selectors, and I felt their reasoning was fair. I completely understood what they wanted to explain to me, and I agreed with it,” said Jitesh Sharma told CricTracker.
In an exclusive interview with CricTracker, Jitesh Sharma breaks his silence on missing out on India’s 2026 T20 World Cup squad.#JiteshSharma pic.twitter.com/plKXvdIRqm
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) January 13, 2026
Jitesh Sharma ignores Virat Kohli from his all-time IPL XI
During the same interview, Jitesh Sharma picked up the all-time IPL XI and ignored Virat Kohli from the lineup. He instead opted for Rohit Sharma as the opener and paired him alongside Adam Gilchrist.
He then did not miss out on the Indian skipper, Suryakumar Yadav, who can be said to be one of the most dynamic batters in the history of the IPL. The two South African legends, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers, were then picked to strengthen the middle order.
He then picked IPL’s most successful skipper, MS Dhoni, as the captain of the side and went with the pair of India all-rounders in Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel. Jasprit Bumrah, RCB teammate Josh Hazlewood, and Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy were named in the XI.
Jitesh Sharma’s latest stint in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26
After the completion of the South Africa series, the Indian wicket-keeper batter Jitesh Sharma returned to feature in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for his team, Baroda. Having played 5 games in the season, the batter did not have the finest of touches.
He was dismissed for single-digit scores in the four matches for Baroda, and then finally made a significant contribution for Baroda in the game against Chandigarh. He scored his first half-century of this edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
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