Jitesh Sharma could be India's wicketkeeper-batter if Rishabh Pant is ruled out for a longer period: Kevin Pietersen

Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen feels that India may have found Rishabh Pant’s replacement, should the wicketkeeper-batter be ruled out of competitive cricket for a while more longer.

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In late December last year, Pant suffered injuries following a horrific car accident, while driving from Delhi to Roorkee. He later underwent three successful surgeries and has been recovering from the injuries since.

As a result, Pant has already missed marquee tournaments like the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the IPL, and there’s no date set for his return just yet.

Pietersen believes that Punjab Kings wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma might a good replacement for Pant.

“Jitesh Sharma, the wicket-keeper from Punjab Kings, is also something special. I think he could be the guy who takes over from Rishabh Pant for India, if Pant is out for a while longer,” the 42-year-old wrote in his column for Betway blog.

“His 25 off seven balls, including four sixes, against Mumbai on Saturday was match-winning,” Pietersen added.

Jitesh Sharma was instrumental for PBKS in the IPL last season, taking nine catches and completing two stumpings. This season, so far, Jitesh has two catches to his name, while having scored 145 runs from seven matches.

Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) Shivam Dube amassed a half-century against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday, that came in just 20 balls. Thatwas Dube’s second fifty of IPL 2023 after a knock of 52 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Pietersen said Dube reminded him of Yuvraj Singh.

“There’s a lot of Yuvraj Singh about CSK’s Shivam Dube. He’s a proper, proper player,” added the former batter.

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