Asia Cup 2025: Jitesh Sharma Opens Up On Pressure, India Dreams And Mentor Dinesh Karthik’s Guidance

With a strong IPL 2025 season behind him, including a crucial knock in the final, Jitesh Sharma has earned a recall to India’s T20I squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. The 31-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, who debuted at the Asian Games in 2023 and played nine T20 internationals before being dropped in 2024, impressed with 261 runs at an average of 37.29 and a strike rate of 176.35.

Despite his recent return, Sharma admitted to mentor Dinesh Karthik that he originally did not want to “put so much pressure” on himself about playing for India. “This was part of his questioning to me: ‘I want to do well. Obviously, I want to try and represent India. But I don’t want to get too caught up and put so much pressure on myself that I’m not enjoying playing wherever I am,’” Karthik told Indian Express.

Mentorship Helped Sharma Unlock His Finisher Role

Karthik, who also serves as Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s batting coach, recalled Sharma’s mindset shift. “He was never someone who was desperate to play for India. He was very free and he went about playing very confidently for Kings, and then made it to the Indian team. And then he knew that he was on the fringes when he didn’t do as well, and the T20 World Cup 2024 was around the corner. That’s when he became desperate. That kind of filtered into his performances which weren’t as good as he wanted them to be, and he put himself under immense pressure.. I was quite fond of the kid. Because he was very honest, very earnest, and wanted to really improve and do well. But I think it got to a point where he wasn’t sure how to move forward from there. I just took note of it and kept it,” Karthik added.

He explained how they worked on Sharma’s finishing skills and ability to play big innings, essential in high-pressure T20 matches. “What he wanted to work on was: how do I finish a game? How do I get the team to above par? He was playing a lot of cameos, never knowing how to play that big innings required to win a game or take the team to a strong total 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,” said Karthik.

A Different Batter From Karthik, But Just As Special

Commenting on comparisons between his playing style and Sharma’s, Karthik noted, “I think everybody thinks he and I are very similar as players, but actually, we are very different. 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: 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.”