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Sunil Gavaskar sympathises with Jitesh Sharma over T20 World Cup exclusion: ‘Perhaps the best at DRS after MS Dhoni’
Jitesh Sharma has been dropped from India's T20 World Cup squad, with the selectors preferring Ishan Kishan over him as the second wicketkeeper-batter.
While all the chatter is firmly about Shubman Gill's exclusion from India's T20 World Cup, one shouldn't forget that there is another player who has every right to feel hard done by. Jitesh Sharma no longer finds himself a part of the squad, and he, too, must be asking what exactly he did wrong to be in such a position. The right-handed batter set the stage on fire in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 for the eventual winners, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and this led to him being parachuted in for the Asia Cup; however, three months later, he once again finds himself out of favour.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar sympathised with the Vidarbha star Jitesh, saying his exclusion is truly a “tough call,” and he now needs to return to the rigours of domestic cricket and prove himself all over again.
"I feel for Jitesh Sharma though. He did nothing wrong. He was a very good wicketkeeper in his chances, and after MS Dhoni, he was perhaps the best at helping the captain with DRS calls from behind the stumps," JioStar expert Gavaskar said on ‘Follow The Blues’.
Also Read: Sunil Gavaskar’s blunt advice to axed Shubman Gill after T20 World Cup setback: ‘Ghar pe kisi ko bolo nazar utaar de’
"It is tough on him, but he is young. He just needs to go back to domestic cricket and keep performing," he added.
It is worth mentioning that Jitesh did not play a single game in India's winning campaign in the Asia Cup, and he only featured in the playing XI in the T20I series against Australia. He played a total of seven matches in 2025, getting a chance to bat in five games, scoring 62 runs.
Jitesh, 32, was tasked with doing the thankless job of coming in to face just 5-10 balls and score as many runs as possible. Hence, nothing much can be read into his haul of 62; however, one thing needs to be stated, and that is he was flawless behind the stumps as the wicketkeeper.
‘Very happy for Ishan’
However, the legendary Indian batter also said that he's really happy with Ishan Kishan finding a place in the squad on the back of a strong domestic season for Jharkhand.
Recently, Kishan led Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy win after the side defeated Haryana in the summit clash. The left-handed batter had a commendable season with the bat, scoring 517 runs in 10 innings at an average of 57.44. For two years, the batter found himself out of favours after being dropped on disciplinary grounds but he broke the door owing to his strong performances in the domestic circuit.
“When you see someone performing, you pick him. Ishan Kishan has already been in the side and shown he can do it. That is a big plus," said Gavaskar.
“His current form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy proves that domestic cricket performance must be the selection criteria, not just the IPL. I am very happy for him. He was out of the team for a couple of years but made a fantastic comeback by leading his state team Jharkhand to a title winning season,” he added.
India will open their T20 World Cup campaign on February 7 against the United States at the Wankhede Stadium. However, before the tournament begins, the 15-member squad will be playing in a five-match series against New Zealand, beginning January 21.
