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Tilak Varma


The present day Indian cricket side is one whose DNA is strongly driven by the presence of youth. And while the likes of Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan have already become names to reckon with even as Rishabh Pant became much before them an irreplaceable presence, there’s a constant influx of other young names in the current structure of the team.  

One such name is that of Tilak Varma. It seems- at least, as of now- that he is here to stay. 

But how did the journey come about? How were the beginnings and what were the major moments in this youngster’s journey whose best days lie ahead of him? 

Born on November 8, 2002 in Hyderabad to a modest family, Tilak Varma started cricket with a tennis ball. Tilak Varma’s real start to cricket was when he caught the eye of coach Salim Bayash while playing with a tennis ball at the age of 11, but Tilak Varma’s initial journey was rocky. 

Bayash himself used to bring Tilak Varma on a scooter, which was about covering 80 kms everyday.

Tilak lived up to the faith of his family and coach and at the age of 17, made it to the Hyderabad squad for the 2018-19 Ranji tournament. However, he got a chance to play just one match. 

After the Ranji tournament, Tilak Varma was named in Hyderabad’s Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali squad for the T20 tournament. But batting wasn’t the only sphere where he held onto his own; Tilak Varma also contributed in bowling. Perhaps a big reason why Pandya wasn’t afraid to toss the ball over to the young man in white ball cricket game versus the Windies in the T20I final in the US. 

Not bad to have Pooran as a maiden wicket.

On the strength of his performance, Tilak Varma earned a place in the Under-19 World Cup 2020 squad, in which he managed to score just 86 runs in 6 matches at an average of 28.66.

In the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Cup 2021-22, Tilak Varma had a brilliant performance in 7 matches scoring 215 runs with 2 fifties at an average of 35.83 and a strike rate of 147.26. On the strength of this performance, the Mumbai Indians bought him in the 2022 auction process with a base price of 20 lakhs for Tilak Varma for a whopping 1.7 crores. 

In his first IPL season, Tilak Varma had an impressive performance scoring 397 runs in 14 matches at an average of 36.09 and a strike rate of 131.02 with 2 fifties before making his intentions clear with an unbeaten 84 against Royals Challengers Bangalore in his first match of the 2023 season. 

For the second season in a row, Tilak scored 343 runs in 11 matches at an average of 42.88 and a strike rate of 164.11.

If that’s not impressive, then what is? 

Subsequently, he was selected for the T20I series against the West Indies on the strength of his performances in the IPL and domestic tournaments. 

In his first series, Tilak Varma scored 173 runs in 5 matches at an average of 57.66 and a strike rate of 140.65. He batted with a sense of confidence and frankly, hardly ever looked bothered out in the middle. 

The important thing is that Tilak Varma scored the most runs from the Indian team in this recent series. These were contests that featured some big names- Gill, Kishan, Pandya and not to forget, Sky.  

However, in the series against Ireland that followed the one versus the West Indies, Tilak could score only 1 run. That told, it ought to be remembered that there weren’t too many batting opportunities on that tour as well for the rising youngster. 

But the biggest possible news just ahead of the much awaited ODI World Cup was about to touch the left hander’s heels. 

Tilak Varma was named in Asia Cup squad for first time despite a lukewarm series against Ireland. Rather importantly, Tilak Verma has been named in ODI squad for the  very first time; the T20’s being his stable wagon up until this point. 

Legendary players like Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and Suresh Raina have contributed in bowling as well as batting. 

But considering the current Indian team, none of the top order players are seen bowling so having a young all-rounder like Tilak Verma in the team is important for the Indian team. 

There is a shortage of left-handed batsmen in the top order of the Indian team, so it has to be seen whether Tilak Verma can fill the gap of a left-handed batsman with an all-rounder. 

All eyes now will be on how Tilak Verma capitalises on the opportunity he gets.

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