Pointed the bat at SKY to acknowledge his faith in my ability: Tilak

That Tilak Varma is one of the most promising batters in Indian cricket was never in doubt, but the fact that he batted at No.4 or lower for the Indian team, his full range was not explored. However, given a chance to bat at No.3 by skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who sacrificed his own position, Varma, in the third T20I against South Africa in Centurion, hit a sizzling century to help India take an unbeatable series lead of 2-1 in the four-match T20 series.

After Yadav was full of praise for the Mumbai Indians youngster and had reasoned out the decision to make him bat at No.3 in the post-match presentation, Varma further admitted how the backing made him more confident in his abilities.

“All thanks to Surya [kumar Yadav], our captain, because he has given me the opportunity to bat at number three because I love to bat at number three or four. But last two matches I played at number four. But last night, he came to my room and said that you gonna bat at number three, so it's a good opportunity. So express yourself. I said to him that I gonna perform and I'll show you on the ground. So that's why I pointed the back to him after scoring the ton,” Varma said in the post-match press conference. 

After securing a 61-run win in the opening T20I in Durban, India conceded the advantage in Gqeberha, which they lost by three wickets. However, on the back of a commanding batting display, the visitors didn’t give a chance to the Aiden Markram-led side.

“So actually, it was a very important game for us and for the series as well. So we just want to, as I said before, we just want to express ourselves, and we want to play our brand of cricket, though, what we have been playing since the World Cup. So, we are just following our basics and the process. So that's what has given us results. So hopefully, we will be following the same one in the last T20 as well,” Varma added.

With Hardik Pandya being removed from the captaincy and Suryakumar Yadav being appointed in a full-time position, it was expected that there would be some sort of acrimony within the team, as observed in the Mumbai Indians camp during IPL 2024. However, the Andhra Pradesh batter disputed that by revealing the entire team have a very good bond with Hardik.

“I have a very good bonding with Hardik. He was India’s vice-captain in the World Cup. He was Mumbai Indians’ captain as well. He has always supported me in all kinds of situations. He makes us understand so many things. Doesn't matter what goes on outside, we have a very good bond with all the players within the team,” Varma added.

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