NEW DELHI: Jitesh Sharma, who came into the limelight in IPL 2025 with his match-winning performances for RCB, has revealed how an Indian T20I great shaped his batting approach.

His fearless strokeplay and ability to take games into his own hands are inspired by the legend’s clever game awareness and innovative shot-making, which Jitesh has tried to incorporate into his own game.

Learning from the best

Speaking exclusively to Sports Yaari, Jitesh explained how closely he follows the Indian T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav. “I follow Surya Bhai a lot as a cricketer. I try to copy him a lot. I talk to him a lot. I literally pick his brain.

As a cricketer, I feel he is one of the best manipulators of the game. The way he manipulates, nobody can stop him. That's why I love his batting in T20,” he said.

He also described practicing shots repeatedly, even in unconventional ways.

“I was shadow batting in the room. The captain was Rajat Patidar. The room was big, so I was taking the bat and doing something. Then Rajat was saying, ‘Have you gone crazy? What are you doing?’ I told him, ‘Rajat, I want to play such a shot once in life, like lifting something over my head,’” he recalled.

Bringing inspiration into match-winning impact

Jitesh acknowledges that while he cannot fully replicate the brilliance of the Indian T20I legend, he aims to absorb key aspects of his game.

For him, it is about adopting the awareness, timing, and mental sharpness that allow a player to dominate in crucial moments and finish matches for his team.

“I can’t become like him. But if I can bring 30-40 percent of his game awareness to my game, I think we hope so. Next year you become full 360 and quite strong. Even 180 will work. But I should finish the match. I should win the match. That’s it,” he added.