{"id":40936,"date":"2025-04-17T03:58:59","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T03:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=40936"},"modified":"2025-04-17T03:58:59","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T03:58:59","slug":"from-nda-dreams-to-india-blues-the-rise-of-jitesh-sharma-and-the-mentor-who-believed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=40936","title":{"rendered":"From NDA Dreams to India Blues: The Rise of Jitesh Sharma and the Mentor Who Believed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-40935\" src=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jitesh_Sharma-IPL.jpg\" alt=\"Jitesh Sharma IPL\" width=\"850\" style=\"display: block; margin: 8px auto;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jitesh_Sharma-IPL.jpg 976w, https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jitesh_Sharma-IPL-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jitesh_Sharma-IPL-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jitesh_Sharma-IPL-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jitesh_Sharma-IPL-696x465.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 976px) 100vw, 976px\" \/>Bengaluru:<\/strong> Cricket wasn\u2019t the dream. Not even a fleeting thought. For Jitesh Sharma, the plan was set \u2014 join the NDA, serve in the Air Force, wear a different kind of uniform. But fate, as it often does in sport, had other ideas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was in 10th standard. I wanted to go for NDA. One day, a friend said, \u2018Let\u2019s do a cricket trial. We\u2019ll get 4 percent extra marks,\u2019\u201d Jitesh recalls with a smile. At that moment, cricket was just a means to an academic end. But when he noticed \u2018wicketkeeper\u2019 had the fewest names on the registration list, Jitesh \u2014 along with two friends \u2014 casually chose it. And unknowingly, chose a future.<\/p>\n<p>Today, Jitesh Sharma stands tall not just as a dependable wicketkeeper-batsman, but as a beacon of belief for his hometown of Amravati. \u201cI think I am the first boy who played for India from Amravati,\u201d he says. \u201cSo when I go back, I give that same belief to others \u2014 if I can do it, anyone can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His rise through the ranks brought him to Royal Challengers Bangalore, a franchise with one of the most passionate fanbases in the country. \u201cWhen I went to play in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, people were shouting for RCB. That\u2019s when I realized it\u2019s not a small thing that I\u2019ve joined RCB,\u201d he says, surprised by the sea of fans queuing up for his autograph.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s the role of the finisher where Jitesh has truly found his niche \u2014 even if it came at the cost of personal milestones. \u201cEarlier, I was an opener. I used to score fifties and centuries. Now as a finisher, I haven\u2019t scored a fifty. But 10 balls, 30 runs. 20 balls, 40 runs \u2014 that\u2019s become our 50. And I\u2019m happy, if the team wins.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That humility and team-first attitude haven\u2019t gone unnoticed. Especially not by Dinesh Karthik, who has been mentoring Jitesh with admiration. \u201cHe\u2019s always hungry to learn. He calls me \u2018Anna.\u2019 He tries everything I suggest. If it works, great. If not, he comes back honestly and says, \u2018Tell me something else.\u2019 If I work with him for a year or two, I feel like I can touch the limits with him,\u201d Karthik says.<\/p>\n<p>As a wicketkeeper, Jitesh finds a different thrill in reading the game from behind the stumps. \u201cThe biggest advantage of keeping is that you don\u2019t run, so your energy is saved \u2014 but your mind gets tired. You get to read the pitch, the bowlers, the batters. I stay involved for 240 balls. That\u2019s the fun of cricket for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In every sense, Jitesh Sharma is redefining what it means to rise \u2014 with no blueprint, no plan, just raw hunger, resilience, and the guidance of a mentor who saw the spark. From NDA dreams to donning the Indian jersey, his journey is a story of how chance, choice, and a little belief can change everything.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bengaluru: Cricket wasn\u2019t the dream. Not even a fleeting thought. For Jitesh Sharma, the plan was set \u2014 join the NDA, serve in the Air Force, wear a different kind of uniform. But fate, as it often does in sport, had other ideas. \u201cI was in 10th standard. I wanted to go for NDA. One [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket-cricket"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>From NDA Dreams to India Blues: The Rise of Jitesh Sharma and the Mentor Who Believed - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis &amp; Other Sports<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=40936\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From NDA Dreams to India Blues: The Rise of Jitesh Sharma and the Mentor Who Believed - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis &amp; Other Sports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bengaluru: Cricket wasn\u2019t the dream. Not even a fleeting thought. For Jitesh Sharma, the plan was set \u2014 join the NDA, serve in the Air Force, wear a different kind of uniform. But fate, as it often does in sport, had other ideas. \u201cI was in 10th standard. I wanted to go for NDA. 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