Another rising star has made his entry into India’s quality pool of cricket talent in the characterization of Tilak Varma. The middle-order batter led from the front to save his side in the 2nd T20I against England at Chepauk, pushing on with the sort of innings which makes him indispensable for the Indian team. While the Indian cricketing fraternity has reached peaks of praise for Tilak, the former India player Ambati Rayudu had set his eyes on an all-format career for the batter. If such a huge statement was made by Rayudu then it surely is the maturity of Tilak that spoke during the chase on the Chepauk ground.
While there were regular fall of wickets at the other end, Tilak remained composed and focused exclusively on increasing the score. He played a stand-out innings, scoring 72 not out off 55 balls as India chased a target of 166 in just 19.2 overs.
“I see a huge superstar coming from India, and I see him capable of being an all-format player. It is not that he is only a T20 player. Considering the maturity he showed today, he can be a match-winner for India for several years. So I think he should be backed across all formats,” said Rayudu.
“He is a big name in cricket, and I have seen him develop in Hyderabad. He’s had four hitting innings that have been amazing. Once you make him captain-Suryakumar Yadav-it has made him feel almost transported. He has completely returned the favor,” he said.
Tilak also discussed his improved form of late by condemning himself about having to work hard on himself to improve his strike rate in the shortest format.
“I have rebuilt my strike rate. My forward game is good. If on the bounce I can get a shot or a pickup for runs, it will really ricochet off the bowler’s confidence. So, a lot has been worked on this. The strike rate has gone up a notch, and I am getting good results, as you can see,” he said after the 2nd T20I.