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Jitesh Sharma has missed out on selection in India’s 15-man squad for the following 12 months’s T20 World Cup.
Jitesh Sharma’s world cup dream has ended. (PTI Photo)
Indian selectors sprang a few surprises as they dropped Shubman Gill and reappointed Axar Patel because the T20I vice-captain for the upcoming Recent Zealand series and T20 World Cup 2026. Besides Gill, Jitesh Sharma has also lost his spot with the duo of Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh recalled within the 15-man squad.
While Gill’s stats with the bat haven’t been impressive since his return to the T20I squad earlier this 12 months, Jitesh didn’t do much mistaken to be axed. Nonetheless, with the selectors set to reunite Sanju Samson with Abhishek Sharma as opener, the team management went for a backup wicketkeeper in Ishan Kishan, who recently had a productive outing for his domestic team Jharkhand within the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy as he racked up over 500 runs including a title-winning century in the ultimate.
Besides, Ishan is a top-order batter while Jitesh has mostly batted in the center and lower middle order as a chosen finisher.
“We’re taking a look at the mixture,” chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar told reporters on Saturday. “If the ‘keeper goes to bat at the highest, for the time being Jitesh is there and he has not done an excessive amount of mistaken. But we want to take a look at the mixture and a keeper at the highest.”
Title Defence At Home A ‘Challenge’
Suryakumar is relishing the challenge of leading India’s title defence in front of home fans. The tournament might be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.
“It’s an excellent responsibility and challenge for me to play in front of the house crowd. The squad looks balanced and we’ve got filled within the positions well. We have already got 2-3 combos ready once we see the squad,” Suryakumar said.
December 20, 2025, 15:54 IST
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