Former India wicket-keeping batter Parthiv Patel has said that Jitesh Sharma’s ticket to the T20 World Cup has started to get printed. India is all set to take on Afghanistan in the third and final T20I of their series at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, January 17.

IND vs AFG, 2nd T20I: Scorecard

Jitesh played the first two T20Is against Afghanistan, scoring 31 and 0 respectively. He broke into the Indian T20I setup following a brilliant display in IPL 2023, where he scored 309 runs while striking at 156.06 for Punjab Kings.

Speaking to Jio Cinema, Parthiv said Jitesh’s ticket to the T20 World Cup has slowly started t0 get printed as India need a destructive batter down the order. Jitesh has scored 100 runs in seven innings for India in T20Is, while striking at 147.05.

“India’s option is probably to have a wicketkeeper who can bat down the order. If you have to bat down the order, you need a destructive batter. The way Jitesh Sharma is playing, he is a very good option and I feel his ticket to the World Cup has started getting printed slightly,” said Parthiv.

He went on to say that Jitesh showed that he could build the innings with how he approached his innings in the first T20I. Jitesh had scored 31 runs off 20 deliveries, smashing five boundaries.

“The sample size is very small, but when he came to bat in the first T20I, he came before the 10th over. I feel he understood the situation very well and played according to that. He didn’t have to bat the way he usually does. He had to settle a little, keep the strike rate slightly low, and then play his shots. It means he showed another dimension as well, that he can also build an innings,” Parthiv added.

India will be looking to complete a clean-sweep against Afghanistan in Bengaluru, having won the first matches in Mohali and Indore.