‘He was delighted and so was I’ – Tilak Varma’s childhood coach reminisces moment when young batter told him about his India call-up

India might not have had a great start to the five-match T20I series against the West Indies as they are 0-2 down, but someone who has had an electrifying beginning to his international career is the talented young batter, Tilak Varma. In the first match in Trinidad, the left-hander scored 39 in 22 balls. He followed it up with a 41-ball 51 against the West Indies in the second T20I.

After consistent performances at the domestic level for Hyderabad and at the Indian Premier League for Mumbai Indians, Tilak got picked for India’s T20 side for this tour of the Caribbean. He has grabbed the opportunity with both hands and it seems that India’s long wait for a match-winning left-hander in the middle order can finally come to an end.

Salam Bayash, who is Varma‘s childhood coach, revealed how excited his student was when he informed him about being called up to the Indian side. Praising the youngster’s upbringing, Salam mentioned that he always had the belief that the Guntur-born will be a big player one day.

“He belongs to a very humble background and his family has taught him to give respect to the teacher. Talking about him, he too is a very humble kid. Main mehnat kraya, vo mehnat kiya, dene wala to upar wala hi hai. I’m very happy for him. Every coach wants to see his student playing for the country and my wish got fulfilled,” the coach was quoted as saying by News18 CricketNext.

“The moment he got selected for the Indian team, he called me up on video call. I was driving at that point of time. But he kept on calling and finally I parked my vehicle and picked his call. He then broke the news to me that he was selected in the Indian team. Sir mera Indian team mein naam agya [Sir, I have received India team call-up]. He was delighted and so was I. I always believed that he is destined to be a big player and we just kept working hard towards this,” he added.

Try to grab as much knowledge as you can from Sachin Tendulkar: Tilak Varma’s coach 

Mumbai Indians have benefited immensely after signing Tilak Varma. He has scored 740 runs in 25 games for the five-time Indian Premier League champions at an average of 38.95 and a strike rate of 144.53. Bayash, a Sachin Tendulkar fan himself, advised Tilak to learn as much as he can from the ‘Master Blaster’.

“The person whom I look up to, you are getting to spend time with him and that’s Sachin Tendulkar. It’s in itself a very big thing for me. Try to grab as much knowledge as you can from him,” Bayash concluded.