Ranji Trophy: Jitesh Sharma joins Baroda after Vidarbha exit; Rasikh Salam also makes move
Mumbai:
Vidarbha and Royal Challengers Bengaluru wicketkeeper
Jitesh Sharma
and J&K pacer Rasikh Salam Dar will represent Baroda in the upcoming domestic season. Both players have apparently made the switch with help from their RCB teammate and Baroda captain,
Krunal Pandya
.
Jitesh, 31, captained Vidarbha in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy last season, leading them to the quarterfinals, but did not feature in any matches during the 2024–25
Ranji Trophy
. He has played nine T20Is for India (100 runs @ 14.28), and was a star performer for IPL 2025 champions RCB (261 runs in 15 matches @ 37.28, with one fifty and a strike rate of 176.35, including a top score of 85 not out in a league stage match and a crucial cameo of 24 off 10 balls in the final against his former IPL team, Punjab Kings).
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Rasikh has played five first-class matches and taken 13 wickets at an average of 25.23. In List A cricket, the 25-year-old fast bowler has claimed 13 wickets from 10 games at an average of 37.46 and an economy rate of 5.80. He has also featured in 36 T20 matches, taking 45 wickets at an average of 23.13 and an economy rate of 8.52. Rasikh made his List A debut for J&K in the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy in October 2018, and played his first Ranji Trophy match later that year on December 30.
His T20 debut came on February 22 in the 2019 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Salam, who has played for India A, has also been part of four IPL teams — RCB, Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Mumbai Indians.
Apparently, Jitesh wasn't happy with certain things at Vidarbha.
A white-ball specialist, Jitesh — who made his first-class debut in 2015 — did not play in the Ranji Trophy last season. He played the last of his 18 first-class matches in January 2024. He has scored 661 runs in 18 first-class matches, 1,533 runs in 56 List A games, and 2,886 runs in 141 T20s with a strike rate of 152.29.
Apart from RCB, Jitesh has played for Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians in the IPL. He was part of the Rohit Sharma-led MI team that won the trophy in 2017.
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India Today
17 minutes ago
- India Today
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Time of India
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7 hours ago
- Indian Express
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Sudharsan's county stint also prepared him to negotiate the English conditions, the kind India encountered for the first time on this tour. In the few games he played for Surrey, the left-hander learned to relax and give importance to the technical aspects of the game. 'As a batsman, when you are juggling between formats, I believe only the mindset should change, not your game … There is a big shift tactically. When I go to England, I have to leave a lot more balls than I usually do,' he had told The Indian Express. It is the wrists that manipulate the ball into the gaps, making it difficult for the captain to set a field. When he was in the company of Pant, another batsman with a knack of hitting the ball in unguarded areas, it seemed England were in trouble. The two were toying with the bowlers, India seemed set for a long partnership. England were losing the grip and then came the twist. Pant got carried away and to a smartly bowled slow yorker, he attempted a predetermined reverse sweep. He was beaten by the pace and trajectory. He missed the ball and it hit him on the toe. There were worried faces in the Indian dressing room as the pain on Pant's face hinted at the seriousness of the injury. By late evening the word from the Indian camp was that Pant had gone for scans and the BCCI medical team was 'monitoring his progress'. India's key player's left finger hadn't yet fully healed and now he gets a blow on his right foot. A bigger question looms: How will India limp on the last leg of this tough tour if Pant is ruled out of the series?
