IND vs AUS: Jitesh Sharma has real opportunity to settle his place in absence of Rishabh Pant, says Aakash Chopra

Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra feels Jitesh Sharma has a real opportunity to settle his place in the absence of Rishabh Pant. Jitesh got his chance in the final XI after Ishan Kishan was kept on the bench by the team management in the fourth game.

The right-hander scored an impressive knock of 35 runs off just 19 balls in the penultimate game of the series. Thus, he played a key role in helping India post 174 runs on the board, which proved to be enough. Jitesh scored 24 runs off 16 balls in the final game of the series.

Jitesh is well known to hit the ground running and adopts an attacking approach from the get-go.

“If you think about it, this is a real opportunity for someone like Jitesh Sharma to settle his place in the absence of Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan. Rishabsh is far away from regaining full fitness, and Ishan is struggling to find a place in the top-order. You don’t see Ishan play at No. 5 and hence Jitesh is a solid option down the order,” Chopra said on Jio Cinema ahead of the final T20I match in Bengaluru.

The renowned commentator added that Jitesh Sharma can be in the scheme of things for the T20 World Cup 2024.

“People are not realising, but Jitesh can seriously be in the scheme of things for T20 World Cup 2024,” Aakash Chopra further added.

Jitesh has certainly impressed while playing in the IPL and he would want to make the most of his chances for the national team. The 30-year-old has scored 543 runs in 26 IPL matches at an average of 25.86 and a blistering strike rate of 159.24.

On the other hand, Rishabh Pant is currently recovering after a brutal car accident and he has been retained by Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2024 mini-auction.