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'We'll see him play…': Rohit Sharma's bombshell about MI youngster's India debut
After MI's victory, MI captain Rohit Sharma reserved some high praise for the 20-year-old. He, in fact, dropped hints of drafting Tilak into the Indian side.
Cameron Green deservedly got the Player of the Match award for his unbeaten 64 off 40 balls, Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun got high praise for bowling a good last over under pressure, Riley Meredith and Jason Beherendroff were lauded for their spells but amid all this, Tilak Varma's contribution somehow slipped to the backstage. Tilak was playing in front of his home crowd but not for his home team. He was representing the Mumbai Indians against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad in an IPL 2023 match on Tuesday. The left-hander who has been the pillar in MI's middle order since last year's IPL, played another crucial knock for his side.
MI were 95 for 3 in 11.5 overs when Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed. They needed someone to bat with Green at a fair pace. Coming in to bat at No.5, Tilak did exactly that. He provided the MI innings with the much-needed impetus in the middle overs. The left-hander hit four sixes and two fours and slammed 37 off just 17 balls. MI ended up with 192/5 which proved 14 too many for SRH.
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After MI's victory, MI captain Rohit Sharma reserved some high praise for the 20-year-old. The MI opener in fact dropped hints of drafting Tilak into the Indian side. "We watched Tilak last season. We all know what he can do with the bat and he has been brilliant this year. I love his approach. He is not afraid, he doesn't play the bowler, he plays the ball. For someone of his age, coming out and playing the way he is, he's got a long way to go, and we will see him play for some different teams," said the India and MI captain with a cheeky smile.
Tilak, only into his second IPL, has already turned out to be an indispensable member of the MI batting unit. MI lost Krunal and Hardik Pandya last season, Kieron Pollard retired ahead of this season but Tilak has done his best to not let the five-time champions feel the pinch.
He has in fact scored the most runs in the middle overs in the IPL since making his debut last year. Former Australia cricketer Tom Moody too agreed with Rohit.
"He's an absolute jet, isn't he? I love watching him bat," Moody said on ESPNcricinfo. "He seems to have a head on his shoulders well above his age, he's got a sense of maturity about how he navigates his innings, he never seems to be flustered, he's got the shots.
"If he needs to pull the trigger and play a couple of big shots, he's got that, and does it very comfortably. It's a bit of an understatement, but he's got a big career ahead of him, hasn't he? Not only for Mumbai Indians but for India."
