Former India coach Ravi Shastri shared his insights and enthusiasm about emerging cricket talent, particularly highlighting his profound admiration for the young and promising Tilak Varma. Adding to the discourse, Sandeep Patil emphasized the impending inclusion of Varma in the national team for the Asia Cup and the World Cup.
“I’m very impressed with Tilak Varma. Very, very impressed. And I want a left-hander. So, if I’m looking for a left-hander in the middle order, like Yuvraj Singh and before that was Suresh Raina at five, I would really look in that direction. Sandy [Sandeep Patil] and MSK [Prasad] have been selectors, and if I was a selector along with my panel, I would be looking at that current form, looking at how he’s getting his runs,” Shastri told Star Sports.
“So, when I look at the way he has got his runs over the last three months, whether it was for Mumbai Indians, for India, whether it was handling pressure, opposition, or different situations of the game, he has ticked all the boxes for someone so young. When it comes to shot selection, when it comes to the range of shots, the ability to be unorthodox, he has everything. So I’ll be looking at him very closely because he is hot at the moment, his mindset, his confidence, he understands situations, which is for me the most important thing,” he added.
Sandeep Patil also spoke about who will comprise of the middle order in the batting line-up, he said “100 per cent [if India should hand a debut to Tilak Varma?] I will go with Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav. Who will be in the playing XI, can be decided after looking at the balance and the opposition. But Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav will both be in my team.”
