India cricket team star Jitesh Sharma has broken his silence on being snubbed from the T20 World Cup 2026 squad and has revealed that he was kept in the dark by the selection committee. After featuring in 7 T20Is in 2025, the wicketkeeper-batter was ignored for Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan in the 15-member squad for the marquee event. Sharma has now shed light on what was his first reaction to his omission and has also made a bold claim on the selection committee-led by Ajit Agarkar.
Jitesh Sharma wasn’t informed of exclusion from T20 WC squad
In an interview with CricTracker, Sharma revealed that he did not know about his omission from the T20 World Cup squad until the side was announced. However, the keeper-batter revealed that he did speak to coaches and the selectors later on and agreed to their rationale behind excluding him from the side.
“I wasn’t aware of my omission until the squad was announced. After that, I agreed with the explanation given by the selectors in the press conference; it was a valid reason. Later, I had discussions with the coaches and selectors, and I felt their reasoning was fair. I completely understood what they wanted to explain to me, and I agreed with it,” Jitesh Sharma said.
So far, Jitesh has played 16 T20Is and has managed to score just 162 runs. After playing 7 games for India in 2023, he only played 2 T20Is in 2024. Following some stellar performances for RCB in IPL 2025 in which he amassed 261 runs in 15 matches, Sharma earned the trust of the selectors and was given a re-entry into the T20I side. However, his stay was short-lived as the selectors preferred Samson and Kishan in the T20 WC squad over him.
“It was heartbreaking, as I had worked very hard to play in the ICC T20 World Cup. But that’s destiny, I can’t deny it. At that moment, I was numb and couldn’t process anything,” Jitesh added.
Cricket
Shocking! Jitesh Sharma came to know of T20 World Cup 2026 snub from press conference
