On a wicket where most of the Indian batters struggled to get going, Tilak Varma stood tall, scored an excellent 41-ball 51 in the second T20. Although India has lost both the matches are trailing by 2-0 but the biggest positive for them has been Tilak Varma.
Earlier this year, Ravindra Jadeja posted a photo with Tilak Varma on his Instagram handle with the caption, “chilling with the future of India”. Jadeja has been proved right. It wasn’t just Jadeja who saw the talent in Verma, others too had seen it coming. Sunil Gavaskar and Rohit Sharma had called him an “all-format batter” for India.
On Sunday after scoring his maiden T20 fifty, Varma credited his success to Rohit Sharma and IPL.
“My inspiration has been Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma. I spend more time with Rohit bhai. In my first IPL, he had told me that Tilak you are an all format cricketer. It boosted my confidence. His guidance has been massive for me,” Tilak told reporters.
“Rohit Sharma has been a big support system to me. He always talk to me and tell me to enjoy the game.
“For me the turning point has been the IPL. The performance has helped me to play for INdia. Going forward I would like to continue it,” he added.
Tilak also spoke about how Team India coach Rahul Dravid and T20I captain Hardik Pandya’s pep talk ahead of his debut calmed his nerves.
“I have been working with Rahul sir since my U-19 World Cup days. He always tells us to follow the basics and spend more time on the wicket.
“Hardik bhai was also telling me the same. He told me that you have done well in the domestic and the IPL, follow your basics and enjoy your game,” said Tilak.
On India’s back-to-back defeats, the southpaw admitted that India were 10 runs short.
“Wicket was bit on the slower side and it was double paced as well. We thought anything between 150-160 will be a good score. I guess at the end we were 10 runs short,” he said.
Varma also praised Nicholas Pooran, whose 40-ball 67 took the match away from India’s grasp and West Indies bowlers for hitting the harder length more consistently.
“Credit goes to Pooran, the way he batted. He put the pressure on the bowlers straightaway. We knew that we needed one wicket to turn things around because it was not going to be easy for a new batter,” he said.
“They bowled really good. They were hitting the hard lengths and used the slower one’s nicely. They used the wind nicely as well. All credit to them. We will sit and have a chat and will comeback stronger,” he added.
The youngster is unfazed about all the accolades, he is receiving from the fans and former cricketers and just want to carry this consistency.
“International cricket is never easy. You need consistency and to sustain that you have to be disciplined on and off the field,” said Varma.
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