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'I was among batters struggling to face those balls': PBKS star reveals how he transitioned from 'opener' to 'finisher'
The Punjab Kings batter has revealed how he transitioned from an opener to a finisher.
The Punjab Kings have made a strong start to the tournament under their new captain Mayank Agarwal. The side is playing an aggressive brand of cricket, and has won three of its first five games of the 2022 Indian Premier League. In their last match against Mumbai Indians, the bowlers held their nerve to register a narrow 12-run win over the five-time champions and are currently placed at fourth position in the table.
Throughout the tournament so far, a number of youngsters and domestic cricketers have emerged for a number of franchises, and Jitesh Sharma is among them for the PBKS. The 28-year-old from Vidarbha, who had been an opening batter for the most part of his career, recently switched to lower-middle order and assumed a similar role for the Kings in this season.
In three matches so far, Jitesh has made important contributions for the PBKS with scores of 26, 23, and 30*. He also kept for the side in his debut for the Kings against Chennai Super Kings, and returned to the wicketkeeping role in the side's last game against MI.
In an exclusive interview with the Punjab Kings on their official website, Jitesh opened up on his transition from an ‘opener’ to a ‘finisher’. Jitesh began by explaining how the place he practiced in, Nagpur, played a huge role in this shift.
“Nagpur is a hot city. It would get exhausting to start the practice once the sun rose high, so we would start early, like 6 AM, during practice days,” he said.
“The early morning wicket would be different, it would swing a lot, and I was among the batters struggling to face those deliveries.”
Jitesh had a new coach, Pritam Gandhe, who then encouraged him to switch it up a little. “The coach saw me struggling and told me that since my performance was not very applaudable, I should try going in a little later and down the order.
“He asked me to go in later to get back my confidence. Once the sun comes up and dries up the wickets, it would be more acceptable for me to bat in. Batting lower, I would come out at 9 AM or 10 AM, and I clearly batted differently,” the big-hitter disclosed.
It was at this point that his coach first played around with the idea of Sharma donning the role of a finisher. The Punjab Kings player explained, “He asked me if I had tried playing in the middle before. I said I’d never tried it, but I sure don’t mind doing so.”
His coach then sent Sharma in the middle in the upcoming practice game, where he performed well. In subsequent matches, Sharma’s good run continued while playing in the middle. It quickly became clear that he was much more confident playing as a middle-order batter than as an opener.
The 28-year-old eventually played in the middle order for Vidarbha at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year, and ended with an incredible strike rate of 235.16, having faced 91 deliveries.
