India’s Tilak Varma lets a ball move below the watch of West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran. File.
| Photo Credit: AP
Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has batted for younger batter Tilak Varma’s inclusion in the ODI facet forward of the Asia Cup and ICC Cricket World Cup later this yr, lauding the batter for his maturity and confidence throughout his debut worldwide sequence towards West Indies.Â
In his debut sequence in West Indies, Tilak impressed followers along with his mature performances on the crease, staying on the crease throughout tough conditions, taking over bowlers in tough batting circumstances. He has been the highest scorer in this WI sequence, in which India is trailing 2-1. He has scored 139 runs in three matches at a median of 69.50, with one half-century and a strike charge of 139. His finest rating is 139.
“In these three innings, there was no one else as mature, consistent and assured in his strokeplay than Tilak Varma. He is very young and for him to come out and bat in certain situations, an absolute delight to see. He came out with the rain coming in and there were talks that it might go to Duckworth-Lewis,” mentioned Wasim in a video posted by ESPNCricinfo. “He came out and attacked the first 2-3 balls. It goes on to show how tuned in he is with the team’s demand and the game sense that he has got. That is very refreshing to see. Then how he controlled the innings with Suryakumar Yadav going hammer and tongs from the other end, he played his part so beautifully. He finished the game. It is so nice seeing a young guy finish the game,” he added.
 Jaffer batted for Tilak’s inclusion in the ODI set-up, saying that he wouldn’t be stunned to see Tilak if KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer don’t get match forward of Asia Cup and the World Cup. “If at all India needs a batter to look at in 50 overs, I would not be surprised if it’s Tilak Varma. The kind of maturity that he has shown, I will be happy to see him coming into the ODI mix also. There are talks that Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are not ready yet. Why not throw in a youngster like Tilak Varma? He has shown a lot of maturity and [gives] that left-hander option. We have been looking for a top-order left-hander. Why not Tilak Varma?,” he concluded.Â
Tilak has been an excellent discover for MI in the 2020s decade. In his debut season in 2022, which noticed MI end on the backside, he scored 397 runs in 14 matches at a median of 36.09, with a strike charge of 131.02. He scored two half-centuries, with finest rating of 61.
In his second season this yr with the Blue and Gold facet, he scored 343 runs in 11 matches at a median of 42.88 and a strike charge of above 164. He scored one half-century, a gutsy knock of 84* towards Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Tilak has performed 48 T20s in complete, scoring 1,557 runs at a median of 38.092 at a strike charge over 142. He has 11 half-centuries in the format, with the very best rating of 84*. He represents Hyderabad in home cricket. He has performed 25 List-A matches, scoring 1,236 runs at a median of 56.18 and a strike charge of simply over 101.
He has 5 centuries and fifties in 25 innings. Tilak has additionally performed 9 first-class cricket matches, in which he has scored 523 runs at a median of 37.35. He has scored a century and two fifties in 15 innings, with the very best rating of 121.