NEWS
Follow UsIt is an open secret that India desperately are searching for a left-hander for their otherwise right-dominated batting unit. Whilst Ishan Kishan emerges as one of the front-runners, the emergence of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma has expanded the pool of resources for the selectors.
While Jaiswal is made to wait for his opportunities, Tilak’s first glimpse as an Indian player has made the world take notice. Not only has the left-hander shown his attacking prowess, but also has come through on important occasions for the country in the first two T20Is, showing his composure with scores of 39 and 51. Add the fact that he’s a fierce puller of the cricket ball, there are parallels drawn between him and Indian skipper Rohit Sharma.
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India’s premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin opined on similar lines, calling Tilak’s batting style very similar to the Indian skipper in terms of playing the short ball well.
“The emergence of Tilak Varma has made everyone take notice of him. He looked in imperious touch even on that slow pitch in 1st T20I. His batting style is very unlike for an Indian making his his international debut. His game resembles a lot like Rohit Sharma,” Ashwin said on his show.
“He sweats on the pull shot. Generally, India batters won't set up to play the pull shot. It is something they develop later. But his game looks like he has a natural pull shot and sends the ball outside the rope like an Aussie batter. Too early to call, but that knock was stupendous,” he said,” he added.
Tilak’s form in the first two T20Is has now posed the selectors with some tough questions. It is unlikely that Rishabh Pant will recover before the ODI World Cup in India, which leaves India with one less left-hander in the batting unit. Ashwin, on his show, talked about the possibility of Tilak’s inclusion in the World Cup squad.
“This is neck-and-neck with respect to the World Cup. So, will they think about Tilak Varma as an option if we don't have enough backups? Because Sanju Samson has performed really well in ODIs. But the exciting part about Tilak Varma is that he is a left-hander and Team India is lacking left-handers,” he added.
With teams switching their spin options towards wrist-spinners, it has left a void in the sphere of off-spinners, who could challenge left-handed batters. Moeen Ali, Aiden Markram and Glenn Maxwell all remain options but none are front-line spinners for their respective country, making the value of left-handers immense.
“So most teams don't have a finger spinner to challenge the left-handed batters. That is why the emergence of Tilak is crucial. It is still early but will they see him as an option? He has at least made everyone notice him. He is surely in the contingency plan. Because any selector who would have seen that knock would have gone, ‘Woah!’” he added.
