Jitesh Sharma to play Vidarbha Pro T20 League after successful IPL 2025 with Royal Challengers Bengaluru

The IPL 2025 has come to an end with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finally winning their maiden title. One of the top performers for the franchise this season was Vidarbha star wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, who will now look to provide his services in the inaugural edition of the Vidarbha Pro T20 League.

Jitesh had a great IPL 2025, where in the 15 games he featured in, he scored 261 runs at an average of 37.28 and had a phenomenal strike rate of 176.35. He will now lead the NECO Master Blaster in the upcoming T20 league, which will be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium (VCA) in Nagpur from June 5 to June 15. Jitesh, who will be among the star attractions in the competition, will be beginning his campaign against the Bharat Rangers on June 6. 

There are four other teams in the franchise league apart from the Master Blasters and the Rangers, which include the Nagpur Heroz, Nagpur Titans, Orange Tigers, and Pragariya Strikers. The opening game will be played between the Strikers and the Titans, scheduled for 2:45 pm. The Strikers will be led by Yash Kadam, and the Titans will be led by Vidarbha’s 2024-25 Ranji Trophy-winning skipper, Akshay Wadkar.

Karun Nair and Harsh Dubey to miss Vidarbha T20 tournament

While there will be some big stars in the Vidarbha Pro T20 League, there will also be some big names that will be missing. The two biggest names within the Vidarbha setup are Karun Nair and Harsh Dubey, who will not be a part of the franchise tournament as they are currently on national duty in England.

While Nair has been named in the five-match Test series against the ‘Three Lions’, Harsh Dubey is representing the India A squad. The two were part of the first unofficial Test between India A and the England Lions, in which Nair scored an incredible double hundred and Dubey played a handy cameo of 32 and took one wicket in the game.