IPL 2025 Retention: Rumours and speculations are rife over who gets retained and who gets released days ahead of the Retention deadline. With three more days to go, it would be interesting to see who gets retained and who is released. Punjab Kings , who are looking for an overhaul of the squad, would in all likelihood release Jitesh Sharma. The 31-year-old has been playing for the Punjab franchise for the past two seasons and now he reckons he is ready to move to Chennai Super Kings . The Amravati-born cricketer wants to go to the Super Kings because he wants to join Ruturaj Gaikwad. 

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‘I want to play for CSK’

“I want to play for CSK because I share a special bond with Rutu”~ Jitesh Sharma said during a conversation on RevSports. 

In IPL 2022, he rose to prominence at the Kings when he amassed 234 runs with an impressive strike rate of 163.64. In the following year, he was even better,, as he scored 309 runs at a strike rate of 156.06. He also played some crucial knocks in the death overs for the franchise. 

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But again in IPL 2024, he was not at his best as he could muster merely 187 runs in 14 innings, at an average of 17, which was a significant dip from his previous seasons. Wherever he goes, he would be an asset as he can contribute with the bat and is a solid wicketkeeper. Also, what makes him special is his strike-rate, that is 151 across 40-odd matches. 

It would be interesting to see now that he has expressed his desire to be part of the Super Kings, will the franchise take it seriously and place a bid for him if he enters the auction pool.