File photo of Team India.© AFP
Tilak Varma made his India debut during the first T20I against West Indies on Thursday, leaving an instant impact on the big stage. Having made his name with Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, as well as the domestic circuit, the southpaw got off the mark in the most explosive way possible. He took on Alzarri Joseph on the second ball of his innings and slammed him straight over deep square leg for a six. On the very next ball, Tilak once again took the aerial route and cleared the deep mid-wicket boundary with ease for the second six.
While analysing the match, former India pacer RP Singh heaped praise on Tilak, adding that the “future of Indian cricket is hidden in him”.
“It was an extremely good knock. I feel the future (of Indian cricket) is hidden in him. We are all searching for a left-handed middle-order batter, and Tilak Varma can be seen from that angle. He opened his account with a six and then hit a second six as well. The best six was the third one that he hit over cover. It is not that easy to hit a six over extra cover,” RP said on Jio Cinema.
In the first T20I, Tilak played a quickfire knock of 39 off just 22 deliveries.
After making his debut, Varma said “It was a childhood dream of mine to play for India. I never thought that the opportunity would come so early for me.”
He added, “I never expected that the opportunity would arrive this early because after the Under-19 World Cup the Covid-19 pandemic hit and everything came to a stop. I visualise winning the world cup for my team. This though always keeps running in my mind, I visualise it many times.”
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