Punjab Kings (PBKS) wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma opened up on the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction and said that he would prefer Mumbai Indians (MI) or Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as his team if PBKS does not acquire him again. He was with Punjab from 2022 to 2024 but the franchise retained only Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh ahead of the auction as well.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo regarding the mega auction, Jitesh said: “It is a mega auction, so nothing can be said. A player must be ready to go to any team. But if I don’t get a chance in PBKS, then MI [Mumbai Indians] or CSK [Chennai Super Kings] are good options. I like both those teams very much. I like this kind of responsibility very much. I have always loved captaincy and am always ready for it. I feel like when I have this pressure on me, I am able to read the match better. If I get this opportunity, I am completely ready for it.”

Jitesh Sharma also feels his high-risk cricket and constantly changing positions led to his poor start in international cricket as well. Since his debut in late 2023, he has played nine T20Is for India, scoring only 100 runs which came at an average of 14.28 and a strike rate of 147.28.

“I know I play very high-risk cricket. There are a lot of risks in my shot selection. My batting number also kept changing… though that is not that important in T20 cricket. However, apart from all this, I had started thinking too far ahead. About IPL 2024, and the T20 World Cup team. Before that, I never used to think that far ahead. I used to think about one match at a time, and now I have started doing that again,” concluded Jitesh Sharma.