The wicketkeeper batter Jitesh Sharma is all set to feature in the Asia Cup 2025. Jitesh is among the players who get a chance to play in international cricket at a very late stage, from which he drew inspiration from Suryakumar Yadav. Just like current T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, Jitesh spent most of his time playing domestic cricket before getting into the national team.
Suryakumar Yadav made his debut in international cricket when he was 30 and made an incredible impression by smashing a six on the first ball on Jofra Archer's ball. Almost after three years, he became India's T20I captain after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the format.
However, Jitesh made his debut for the Indian team at the age of 29, has played a total of 9 T20Is for the national team so far, and now, after a successful IPL 2025 season, has gotten a call-up for the Asia Cup 2025.
To which, when Jitesh asked about his inspiration, he named Surya, who made his international debut at 31. Suryakumar Yadav is now regarded as India's finest T20I batsman, known for his aggressive approach.
Jitesh, in an interview, said,
"Surya bhai is an inspiration for so many people. He made his international debut at 31. It gives lots of hope for all the late bloomers. He is one of the best T20I batters in the world. He can manipulate the field; he can tear apart any bowling attack."
Further, Jitesh stated that he tries his best to learn from him one or the other skill every day. He also said that in starting he used to focus on copying, but now he's quite confident in smashing those shots on his own.
He said,
"Wo talent ke bhandaar hai, mai unse seekhne ki koshish karta rehta hoon, unko copy karne ki koshish karta hoon" (He is a storehouse of talent, I keep trying to learn from him and often try to emulate him). I used to copy him a lot. But now I have started to execute the shots as well. I managed to hit one Surya special in the IPL final."