IPL 2023Jitesh Sharma has no fear of the game, says Brad Haddin after PBKS's loss vs MI in Mohali

By India Today Sports DeskPunjab Kings assistant coach Brad Haddin has showered praise on wicket-keeping batter Jitesh Sharma, saying he has no fear of the game. Jitesh scored an unbeaten 27-ball 49 but couldn’t prevent PBKS from losing to Mumbai Indians by 6 wickets at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.

Speaking after the game, Haddin said Jitesh is developing nicely and the PBKS camp wanted to send him higher up the order to give him opportunity to face more balls. Jitesh registered his highest-ever score in the IPL, scoring 49 runs in 27 balls, hitting five boundaries and two sixes.

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“He’s [Jitesh] developing nicely. He has gained a lot of confidence as the tournament has gone on and that reflected in the way we used him tonight [Wednesday]. He played really well in the previous games but only faced 10 balls and tonight we wanted him to go up the order and give him the opportunity to face more balls,” said Haddin.

He went on to say that Jitesh has no fear of the game, adding that he has the unique quality of hitting from ball one. Jitesh has been a revelation for PBKS in the middle order, and has the highest strike rate amongst any batters while facing the first 10 balls in IPL 2023.

“We have seen, once he goes out there, he has no fear of the game. He’s building really well. He’s starting to mature into his game. He’s one of those players who has got the unique ability to go from ball one. I think the more balls he faces is good for his development. A think we’ll see a lot more of these sort of innings,” Haddin added.

The former Australia wicket-keeping batter hailed MI batter Suryakumar Yadav’s performance in Mohali, saying the way he controlled the middle part of the game was outstanding. Suryakumar scored 66 runs off 31 balls, smashing eight boundaries and two maximums.

“He hits in different areas. Both batters, because of the left and right combination, complemented each other. The way he [Suryakumar] controlled the middle part of the game was outstanding. He took the game away. We probably didn’t execute what we needed to and allowed him to hit too many boundaries and get on a roll. His innings was pretty special,” said Haddin.

Following their defeat against MI, PBKS will turn their focus towards Kolkata Knight Riders, with the two sides set to lock horns at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on May 8.