New Delhi [India], September 10 : Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and India wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, who had a title-winning season with the Red and Gold franchise this year, reflected on his learnings from legendary Virat Kohli, which have helped him improve.
Jitesh was speaking on the latest episode of the RCB Podcast on the franchise's YouTube Channel. As a finisher, Jitesh had a dream season, scoring 261 runs in 11 innings at an average of 37.28 and a strike rate of 176.35. His highlights include several cameos, but the 85* against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the last league game to earn a Qualifier one spot and a quickfire 24 in the final remain his crowning jewels.
Speaking about his conversations with Virat, he said, "I am learning from him from the far end. I was talking (to Virat) about my intensity in the game, how he managed to... It is very difficult to run your mind with aggression. It is a job, I feel. Because when you are aggressive, you are not clear in your mind. People say, when you are calm, you can take the decisions."
"But that person (Virat), he is full of energy, and still he knows how to play his game while batting. He will keep running hard, take twos. We people are like...Next ball... But he will... He plays the game. That is what I was asking to him. How do you manage? He said how his training has helped him. The training he does, the intense training he does, the match becomes easy for him," he added.
Jitesh also said that he learnt from Virat that sometimes the day might not be a good one for you on the field, and how with small goals, one can keep his energy up during the match.
On learning how to play when struggling to hit, he recalled Virat's advice, "Come to zero again. Try to think about running hard. Try to middle your ball. These small tricks he has taught me, told me, are the most important thing. Take your time between the two balls. People say, you do not get that much time. But he said, there is time there (between two balls). And you can take it. So, I think, you can take a breather there."
You can find a way to take a pause and think. To calm your nerves. And think about the game and to take a decision. And he said that, I know, I can understand that people like you, who come in the number five or six, they always think about hitting a 6," he added.
Speaking about his running between the wickets, Jitesh said that he would be happy running with Virat and feels that he can run two-three runs really quickly with him.
"He (Virat) will be happy that I am someone who, my teammates also say, that I blindly trust my partner. If I do not look at the ball, I look at him. If he (his batting partner) is running, I will shoot. So, I think, he will love running with me," he concluded.
Jitesh is currently the part of the Indian squad which is playing Asia Cup in UAE, having played seven T20Is for India and scored 100 runs.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor