Follow UsJitesh Sharma, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicketkeeper-batter, thanked former RCB star Dinesh Karthik for all the improvement in his batting from last season.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference ahead of RCB’s clash against the Delhi Capitals, Jitesh on April 9 (Tuesday) said, “When I went to Dinesh bhai, he found out that I am lacking in some shots.”
"In the off-season, I really worked hard with him. Whichever shot I am playing right now is a replica of what he used to play,” added the wicketkeeper batter, who moved from Punjab Kings (PBKS) to RCB after a horrible season with the bat.
At Punjab, Jitesh, who had also made his India debut by then, scored only 187 runs in 12 innings of 14 matches in IPL 2024. His average of 124 and strike rate of 130 were not at all in line with the kind of potential he carries in the shortest format.
Talking more about how Karthik has transformed him, Jitesh said, "He is trying to create me as [sic] a new player because he believes in me that I can play all around the 360 angles. I am really enjoying seeing myself in a new role.”
"My confidence doesn't rely on the score. It always depends on my process and how I train in my practice. Because if I have confidence in the end result, then the variables keep changing. So I mostly keep my confidence high in practice only," he said.
Capitals’ assistant coach Matthew Mott praised skipper Axar Patel, saying that he values input from all senior players.
"He doesn't come across as being the only voice. He wants to leverage off others and make sure he's getting the best out of the people around him,” he said.