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Tilak Varma (Source: Twitter)
Young left-hand batter, Tilak Varma got a surprise entry to the squad after making his debut in the T20Is against West Indies. He scored 166 runs in the four innings he played in the five-match T20I series. He also performed exceedingly well in the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
In the last two years, his performances have garnered praise from experts and built him as a first-choice middle-order batter for the five-time champions. At 20, he has the temperament to bat his team out of collapses. His composed demeanour will be much needed by the team in the long run, considering the recent collapses in crunch situations
Two star India batters, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul have made a comeback to the Indian squad for Asia Cup 2023 after recovering from their respective injuries. The return of these two players have reduced the chances for players like Varma. However, Rahul is not fully fit, so the world number one T20I batter, Suryakumar Yadav is likely to replace him in the playing XI.
He has to play a couple of one-day series before putting him in the WC squad: Krishnamachari Srikkanth
Former India opener, Krishnamachari Srikkanth thinks that the Hyderabad-born cricketer should not get chance to play in Asia Cup instead he should play the ODI series against Australia first. “Do not give Tilak Varma a debut in a big tournament, play him in the ODI series before that,” Srikanth was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.
“Tilak Varma is promising. Asia Cup is a big opportunity for him. We saw some real promise not only in terms of performances but also temperament during the T20I series against West Indies. This will give him exposure," the former India cricketer added. “Tilak has fantastic potential, a brilliant player — but he has to play a couple of one-day series before putting him in the WC squad. We need to groom him properly,” the 63-year-old concluded.
Asia Cup 2023 is scheduled to kick start on August 30. The first match of the tournament is set to be played between Pakistan and Nepal in Multan, Pakistan. India will play their opening fixture of the Asia Cup against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 2 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. The last edition of the Asia Cup was won by Sri Lanka, which was played in the United Arab Emirates.