\n<\/p>\n
Jitesh Sharma Opens Up About Family Tragedy Before T20 World Cup<\/strong><\/p>\n In a heartfelt revelation, Royal Challengers Bengaluru wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma shared that his father passed away just days before the start of India’s T20 World Cup 2026 journey. Jitesh, who was not selected for the squad, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to be with his father during his final days. He emphasized that he has no regrets about missing the tournament, stating he felt lucky to have been there for his father when it mattered most.<\/p>\n Before this World Cup, Jitesh had been regarded as India’s second-choice wicketkeeper, especially during the Asia Cup last year. However, he was left out of the final squad to make way for the in-form Ishan Kishan. In his absence, India’s wicketkeeper-batters Sanju Samson and Kishan played crucial roles in the team\u2019s historic win.<\/p>\n While speaking to PTI Videos, Jitesh shared his initial disappointment about not making the team. He admitted that he felt sad but quickly found support from family and friends, who helped him cope. \u201cI was with my father during his last seven days, and I realized then that he needed me more than the World Cup,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n Despite the heartbreak, Jitesh took joy in watching the tournament from home. \u201cIt felt different and more stressful than playing, but I\u2019m really proud of the boys for achieving what they set out to do,\u201d he said, acknowledging the hard work of the team.<\/p>\n Jitesh was dropped alongside Shubman Gill, as India chose to focus on two wicketkeeper-batters in the top three. The selection decision, led by chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir, was seen as a tactical move rather than a reflection of Jitesh\u2019s abilities.<\/p>\n Now, Jitesh is gearing up for the upcoming IPL 2026 season with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where he played a vital role last year. He participated in a recent training camp and mentioned, \u201cPreparations are going well, and everyone is looking sharp.\u201d <\/p>\n RCB will kick off their title defense on March 28, facing Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, after the IPL Governing Council unveiled the schedule for the first 20 matches of the season.<\/p>\n As Jitesh looks ahead, he remains focused on what\u2019s next, ready to contribute to his team as they chase another trophy this season.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jitesh Sharma Opens Up About Family Tragedy Before T20 World Cup In a heartfelt revelation, Royal Challengers Bengaluru wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma shared that his father passed away just days before the start of India’s T20 World Cup 2026 journey. Jitesh, who was not selected for the squad, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to be with<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[16490,34581,34583,34584,34582,1314],"class_list":{"0":"post-26776","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-ipl-2026","9":"tag-jitesh-sharma-father-dies","10":"tag-jitesh-sharma-father-news","11":"tag-jitesh-sharma-rcb-ipl-2026","12":"tag-jitesh-sharma-t20-world-cup-2026","13":"tag-royal-challengers-bengaluru"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}