Indian cricketer Jitesh Sharma is likely to lead Vidarbha in the Vijay Hazare Trophy beginning at Visakhapatnam on December 21. Vidarbha will start their campaign against Jammu and Kashmir on December 23.
Wicketkeeper batter Jitesh Sharma who has played nine Twenty-20 international matches for India led Vidarbha in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Under his leadership Vidarhba qualified for the quarters but lost to Mumbai by six wickets. If the sources are to be believed, Jitesh may lead Vidarbha in another format (50 overs) of white ball cricket. A source said, " Last season left-handed Atharva Taide was given the captainship of both format of the game. Following the trend, Jitesh may get an opportunity to lead Vidarbha in Hazare Trophy also. I don't think Vidarbha will make an experiment of three captains in three format of the game", said the source.
Another source said that under the leadership of Jitesh Sharma Vidarbha performed well in SMAT. They emerged group 'D' topper with 18 points after winning four matches out of six. Jitesh personally played some good knocks when team required. Vidarbha would have qualified for the semis had fielders not dropped the crucial catches. Therefore, Jitesh is strong contender to lead the team in Hazare Trophy".
In the IPL mega auction, Jitesh went to a whopping Rs 11 crore to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru franchise. He had played 40 matches for Punjab Kings and scored 730 runs with the strike rate of 151.13. As far as List 'A' matches are concerned, Jitesh has played 47 matches and scored 1350 runs including two centuries and seven half-centuries. " The selectors can't ignore his experience in the List 'A' cricket.
A source also said that senior selectors including P Viek, Sudhir Wankhede and Jayesh Dongaonkar are selecting the senior team for the first time. The team for Syed Mushtq Ali Trophy was selected by old selectors. " While selecting the team, it will be imporant to see what selectors think . They may have different ideas and approach than the previous selectors. Of the three selectors, P Vivek and Wankhede have experience of team selection. While Vivek was VCA junior selector, Wankhede was the selector of Railways. Let's wait and watch".
It is learnt that Vidarbha's practice session will start on December 16 and after couple of days of practice, VCA will declared the team.
Vidarbha fixtures
December 23 vs Jammu 7 Kashmir, December 26 vs Chhattisgarh, December 28 vs Chandigarh, December 31 vsTamil Nadu, January 3 vs Uttar Pradesh, January 5 vs Mizoram.