Rohit Sharma often says Tilak Varma is a good cricketing brain: Abhishek Nayar

Youngster Tilak Varma has been incredible in the limited opportunities he has received so far. After proving himself in the domestic circuit, the 21-year-old was picked up by Mumbai Indians in the IPL and has scored 740 runs in just 25 matches so far. Courtesy of his consistency and match-winning performances with the bat, Tilak managed to get into the scheme of things for the national team and is now a part of the T20I squad.

Speaking about his growth as a three-dimensional player, former cricketer Abhishek Nayar also praised Tilak’s leadership skills. He mentioned that India skipper Rohit Sharma also identified that and often praises him for the same. Nayar also labelled him as a fearless cricketer and believes that the youngster can prove to be an asset for Indian cricket going forward.

“Tilak brings two dimensions of his game to the team. Yes, fielding is a part of it and yes, he can bowl, but what is really important when I say two dimensions are his batting and leadership skills,” Nayar was quoted as saying to Jio Cinema.

“What you always see with Tilak Varma is fearlessness. He is a young player, but what I have always heard, Rohit Sharma often used to say that he is a great cricketing brain. Because when he plays for MI, he gives good suggestions to Rohit. That part of Tilak is going to be great for Indian cricket,” he added.

Meanwhile, in the absence of many senior cricketers in the upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia, Tilak will have an important role to play. He is likely to bat at number three and play the role of an anchor – something that Virat Kohli does. Notably, he has played 10 T20I matches so far and has scored 231 runs at a strike rate of 142.59. He was sensational in his debut series against West Indies but his form dipped against Ireland and had a mixed time with the bat in the Asian Games.