Jitesh Sharma has endured a lean patch.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma has registered a string of low scores in the DY Patil T20 Cup. His form would come as a slight concern for the defending champions ahead of IPL 2026.
He has 34 runs at an average of 8.50 and a strike rate of 109.67 in four innings, with the highest score being just 11. The batter has scores of 10(12), 10(6), 3(4) & 11(9) so far, which clearly shows he has been in a rut in the local competition.
Other batters have done the heavy lifting despite his poor form and have taken DY Patil Blue to the semifinals, but Jitesh Sharma would want to regain his rhythm as soon as possible. The RCB batter was also in a below-par form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he could only accumulate 92 runs at an average of 18.40 in five outings, registering four single-digit scores in the tournament.
Even the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy didn’t go too well for Jitesh, who could assemble 90 runs at an average of 22.50 in six innings, even though his strike rate (163.63) was reasonably high. Clearly, he needs a quick turnaround and return to form ahead of a big season.
Jitesh Sharma was one of the key reasons behind RCB’s maiden trophy last season, for he did an arduous role of pace-hitting in the middle and death overs to provide impetus to the innings. He showed immense improvements against hard lengths and eased a lot of things for the franchise with his batting exploits.
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In IPL 2026, his role will be similar with the willow, as RCB will likely use him in the lower middle order and ask him to keep the momentum going. However, the opponents will be more prepared to tackle him, which would increase the pressure on Jitesh and leave him vulnerable.
Venkatesh Iyer and Rajat Patidar are already short of runs in domestic cricket and might need some time to settle in at the start of the season. Hence, RCB can’t afford for Jitesh Sharma to underperform if they are to win the trophy again.
Then, Jitesh has also been out of the Indian team since the South Africa series and will have a chance to press a case again with terrific performances. Not many better pace-hitters are available, and he must build on last season’s form to remain in contention.
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