Tilak Varma has become the talk of the town after making a grand entry into international cricket. The Hyderabad batter was handed an international debut last week in the first T20I against the West Indies in Trinidad. So far, the team is yet to register a victory in the ongoing 5-match series but Varma has emerged as the biggest positive in the Hardik Pandya-led side.
Varma smashed a six to get his first runs in international cricket. In fact, he hit back-to-back maximums to begin his career as an Indian batter. After a quick-fire 22-ball 39 in the series opener, he impressed again in the second game in Guyana with his maiden half-century in the international circuit. He ended up scoring 41 off 51 balls and was the top scorer for the team in the game.
A flamboyant start to Tilak Varma’s international career has left several former and current cricketers impressed and one of them veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Speaking about Varma in his latest YouTube video, Ashwin opined that Varma’s left-hand batting ability will be a big plus for India, given that most of the teams don’t have a finger spinner to challenge the left-hand batters.
“This is neck-and-neck with respect to the World Cup. So, will they think about Tilak Varma as an option if we don’t have enough backups? Because Sanju Samson has performed really well in ODIs. But the exciting part about Tilak Varma is that he is a left-hander and Team India is lacking left-handers. Jaddu is the only left-handed batter in the top 7,” Ashwin said.
“And look at the off-spinners from all the top teams. Australia have Ashton Agar. England have Moeen Ali and a leggie in Adil Rashid. So, most teams don’t have a finger spinner to challenge the left-handed batters. That is why the emergence of Tilak is crucial. It is still early but will they see him as an option? He has at least made everyone notice him. He is surely in the contingency plan. Because any selector who would have seen that knock would have gone, ‘Woah!’” he added.
Ashwin further observed that Tilka Varma’s batting style resembles that of Rohit Sharma a lot, especially the young batter’s pull shot. The
“His batting style is very unlike for an Indian making his international debut. His game resembles a lot like Rohit Sharma. He sweats on the pull shot. Generally, Indian batters won’t set up to play the pull shot. It is something they develop later. But his game looks like he has a natural pull shot and sends the ball outside the rope like an Aussie batter. Too early to call, but that knock was stupendous,” he said.
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