Not Jurel! Harsha Bhogle Names 31-Year-Old As Samson's Backup Keeper For Asia Cup
Harsha Bhogle has selected Jitesh Sharma as backup wicketkeeper for Asia Cup, favouring him over Dhruv Jurel because of his impressive IPL performance.
Star Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle has picked Jitesh Sharma as the backup wicketkeeper to Sanju Samson for the upcoming Asia Cup, with no place for Dhruv Jurel in the 15-member squad for the tournament, which is all set to begin next month and is expected to rack the selectors' minds.
Jitesh has impressed as a finisher in IPL 2025, highlighted by his unbeaten 85 against the Lucknow Super Giants, while Jurel has shown his versatility in recent limited-overs matches.
Jitesh's international record for India is underwhelming, averaging a dismal 14.28 in nine T20Is with 100 runs and a top score of 35.
'You have Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, then Shreyas Iyer and then if you want someone to keep wickets, it is one of those rare sights when none of the other batters are keeping wickets, then you can play Jitesh Sharma down the order," Bhogle said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
'In case you want flexibility at the top, then you use Jitesh, who has had a fabulous IPL and whose reinvention of himself as the T20 finisher has been extraordinary. He gives you the other wicketkeeping option down the order, Sanju is the option at the top of the order," Bhogle said.
None of India's Test skipper Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal made the commentator's 15-man T20I squad for the Asia Cup. He picked Abhishek, captain Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Iyer as the four batters.
'Gill is coming off a fantastic Test series and there is a World Test Championship to be won as much as the Asia Cup. He goes for the latter and he has got five days to come back and get ready for the Test series against the Windies," Bhogle said.
'Gill remains captain of the Indian Test side and doesn't let his now near-pristine technique suddenly get affected by white-ball and then come back to red ball. One needs to look at Gill with the T20 World Cup round the corner but there is a little bit of time for that," Bhogle added.
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