When the Rajasthan Royals went into a bidding war for a 19-year-old from Hyderabad in the IPL mega auction this year, they would have never expected the same kid to bash their bowlers in less than two months’ time. Tilak Varma was in a decent demand at the IPL auction in February as he excited as many as four teams to go after him. While the Sunrisers placed the first bid for Tilak, it was Mumbai Indians which took him home after a fierce battle against its arch-rivals, Chennai Super Kings. Young Tilak Varma would have never imagined himself fetching a huge sum of INR 1.7 crores at the mega auction, even in the wildest of his dreams.
Tilak Varma: Living His Moment In The Sun
Mumbai’s desperation for Tilak assured that the rookie wasn’t picked to warm the bench. Subsequently, MI proved us right by handing Varma his first cap in the IPL against the Capitals on March 27. Standing on the occasion, Tilak did not disappoint his franchise and his parents back home. Though he played a little inning of 22 runs off 15 balls in his debut match, his aura gave a positive omen ahead of his bright future for MI and India.
Yesterday was just one of the many coming shreds of evidence about Tilak’s abilities. Arguably, Rajasthan Royals have the best bowling line-up this season with the likes of Prasidh, Boult, Chahal, and Ashwin. However, the way Varma assaulted the RR bowlers earned him a million fans in no time. Ravichandran Ashwin would have never expected the kid to reverse sweep him for a six. This statement itself tells a lot about the self-belief the new generation cricketers exude. Unfortunately for Tilak, he could not finish the match for his side but nineteen is not an age to receive the blame for such a cause. The only thing this man deserves is applause and it is the solitary thing he’s been poured with at the moment.
Hailing from a lower middle-class family in Hyderabad, Tilak had to face times of hardship quite often. From continuing with the same broken bat for a long time to seeing his coach bear his expenses for the sake of his cricket, he had his own challenges early in his learning days. He made his domestic debut for Hyderabad at an age of 16 in 2018 which put his foot in the door at a young age. Receiving a call-up for the Under-19 World Cup 2020 was just a step further. Varma did not have the best of World Cups and hence he was not able to make an early mark just like his batch mates Ravi Bishnoi and Kartik Tyagi.
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Tilak Varma has fairly decent T20 numbers with an average of 31 and a strike rate of about 150 after 17 games. However, he was never a stand-out player in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and hence, his selection for IPL 2022 raised quite a few eyebrows. But this is where the trust factor comes into play. Over the years, every stakeholder of cricket has seen how Mumbai Indians play their bet on raw Indian talent and groom them for the future. Not necessary to mention, but, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah are two of the most prominent names who’ve earned their names through Mumbai Indians.
Undoubtedly, if there are any teams in this multi-billion dollar league that can groom young talent to perfection, then they’ve got to be Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. Interestingly, these were the two teams that fought neck-to-neck till the very end for Tilak Varma at the auction in February this year. Evidently, if two of the best users of raw resources went hard for Tilak, then the lad from Hyderabad would certainly have something special to offer.
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It is understandable that Tilak Varma is still in his early days at this level and things can go anywhere from south to north in the coming years. But the way this youngster bats with great aplomb has to have some meaning. One virtuoso knock might not be enough to stamp his authority, but it has left the cricket fans and pundits craving for more.
