‘Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan Did That’: Aakash Chopra On Tilak Varma’s Debut Innings
Former India batter Aakash Chopra marveled at the way young batter Tilak Varma batted on his debut. According to Chopra, Tilak, who plays for Mumbai Indians, lived up to the franchise’s tradition by starting his international career with a six. Varma made his debut on August 3 in Tarouba, Trinidad, where he impressed everyone with his batting and fearless approach. Facing Alzarri Joseph, he confidently launched the second ball he received over square leg for a six – a statement to kickstart his international career.
Incidentally, two other Mumbai Indians batters – Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan – also began their international careers with a six. “Suryakumar Yadav did that, Ishan Kishan (on ODI debut) did that, and Tilak Varma has done the same thing. Tilak Varma looked outstanding. If you check the scorecard, all Indian batters were going at a run-a-ball. There was just one batsman who was playing with absolute freedom,” Chopra said in his video.
Aakash Chopra also spoke about Varma’s selection ahead of Yashasvi Jaiswal. According to him, the decision to play Varma in the middle order was the correct one since he was a middle-order player and had been doing a good job for the Mumbai Indians.
In the first game, the left-hander was the only batter with a strike rate of more than 100. While other Indian batters were going at a run-a-ball, Varma displayed absolute freedom in his approach, and his dismissal proved to be the turning point in the match.
He was dismissed for an impressive 39 runs off 22 balls, hitting two fours and three sixes. Despite his valiant efforts, India fell short, losing the game by four runs and now trail the 5-match series 1-0.
“Tilak Varma and Mukesh Kumar made their debuts. Yashasvi Jaiswal could have got the debut cap, but if you have a spot vacant at No. 4 and you want to play someone there, then Tilak Varma and not Yashasvi was the right option. What do these Mumbai Indians boys do? Whenever they play their debut game, they open their account with a six,” Chopra said.