Punjab Kings wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma, who has displayed his finishing touches in his maiden IPL season, has compared his journey as a cricketer to that of someone climbing a mountain – a moment to the top. But and the next moment fall from the summit. The 28-year-old Vidarbha cricketer played a useful innings of 26 (17 balls) against CSK on debut, scoring 23 (11 balls) and 30 not out (15 balls) against Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians respectively.
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But in 2017, the 28-year-old, while at his peak, hit a lean patch and found himself struggling to maintain his place in the state team.
“The journey of my career has been like a mountain trekking person’s journey because. Until 2017 I felt like I was on top of a mountain. It doesn’t take much to fall from there and in 2017 I had a drop like this where I found it very difficult to even be in the state team,” Sharma told the Punjab Kings website.
He remembered trying to stay calm, and taking small steps to get back on his feet. “After that, I focused on taking only one step at a time and when I played my first game, I remembered everything from my past when I was sitting in the dugout. Where I came from, my struggles, this All my sacrifices for the moment and all the people who have supported me. I don’t want to let anyone down, even myself,” said the 28-year-old.
Sharma did not forge the day he made his debut against CSK, playing against the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, being bowled by Ravindra Jadeja and keeping Dwayne Bravo and Ambati Rayudu as close fielders.
It is easy for a youngster to be overwhelmed by the icons he had seen growing up on television, but Sharma said he gave everything on the field despite being nervous.
He said, “I gave my all on the field and I was obviously nervous as I faced my first ball. I was pumped because of the crowd. I saw MS Dhoni and Jadeja bowling to me behind me. There was DJ Bravo on my left. Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu were all around me, whom I have seen on TV but never seen in real life, so I could feel their vibrations around me,” he said.
“My sacrifice and hard work was always with me, so I was very confident and the moment my bat touched the ball for the first time, everything went back to normal. I was just into the game,” Sharma explained as he took the nerves out.
Sharma said that his father has been his biggest inspiration.
“My father used to play a lot of cricket and also take part in tennis tournaments and I used to join him in many prize distributions. He was a businessman but was always emotionally controlled. Whenever he used to watch cricket, he was emotionally happy and excited. That’s when I realized that if he could see me playing cricket, he would be so excited. My journey started from there and that’s when I felt that I can start playing cricket.”
His father has been his biggest cheerleader, and that didn’t change during his debut. “After the match, when I saw my father’s missed call, I called him back, though I was hesitant to call as he has a strict routine. He usually falls asleep by 10 pm, but this time, when I called him around 12:30-1 pm, he was awake.”
“He was waiting for me to call back. He was so happy that he told me, ‘Well done, son!’ Because when my dad uses only two-three words, I know he is ninth,” he said.
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