'Leave it to me; just don't get out': Tilak Varma's loud and defiant message proves Rohit Sharma's prophecy right

'Leave it to me; just don't get out': Tilak Varma's loud and defiant message proves Rohit Sharma's prophecy right

Leave it to me; just don't get out': Tilak Varma's loud and defiant message proves Rohit Sharma's prophecy right ByR Kaushik Jan 26, 2025 02:04 PM IST Share Via Copy Link Those within the Mumbai cricketing circuit claim Rohit Sharma once famously said about Tilak Varma ‘Watch out for him’.

Tilak Varma hates getting out. Especially if he is wearing India colours in a Twenty20 International. That’s not the worst thing, right?

India's Tilak Varma celebrates after hitting four runs to win the game.(REUTERS)

The young left-hander was last dismissed on 10 November 2024 in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), in the second of four T20Is in South Africa. After making a run-a-ball 20 while batting at No. 4 in a low-scoring game that his side lost, the newly minted 22-year-old knocked on his captain’s door, quite literally, seeking a promotion to No. 3.

It would have taken some guts to ask the captain to cede his slot. Not just any captain, but the top batter in the world in the format. But Tilak and Suryakumar Yadav had spent several hours in the Mumbai Indians dugout, which encouraged the Hyderabadi to ask his skipper to give up his exalted position in the batting order.

In his first outing at No. 3 in Centurion, Tilak hammered an unbeaten 107 off 56; two nights later in nearby Johannesburg, he outdid himself with 120 not out from just 47. His hundred came in 41 deliveries, the third fastest by an Indian. He also became the second Indian, after Sanju Samson with whom he put on an unbroken 210 for the second wicket, to smack back-to-back T20I centuries.

On the back of those two unconquered hundreds arrived a relatively anonymous 19 not out on Wednesday night in Kolkata, in the first of five T20Is against Jos Buttler’s England. That came from No. 4, in keeping with India’s stated aim of having a left-right combination in the middle at all stages of the innings. But when Abhishek Sharma was first man dismissed on Saturday night at Chepauk, Tilak replaced his fellow left-hander in the middle, back at the No. 3 position that he so loves and relishes.

This was a different Tilak. Necessarily so. It was a Tilak that both exhilarated and delighted, a Tilak that has been seen previously for Mumbai Indians but who is now well on his way to reprising those heroics on a grander stage. A Tilak who had to marshall a tricky run-chase as wickets tumbled around him, a Tilak who had to think for himself but also for his less accomplished batting colleagues, Arshdeep Singh and Ravi Bishnoi. A Tilak who had to score the bulk of the runs, but without taking attendant risks because if he was dismissed playing a big stroke, it was curtains. A Tilak who had to showcase maturity beyond his tender life years, but whose cricketing years have already been so eventful and pressure-filled that maturity has now come to sit oh-so-lightly on his broad shoulders.

Of all his knocks for the country – 21 in T20Is, four in ODIs – this must rank the most special, the most defining, an innings that has made him practically indispensable at this stage of his career. 72 not out off 55, strike-rate 130.90, isn’t flash without context. But consider that India needed 40 off the last five, all batters bar Tilak back in the pavilion and England’s bowlers using height, lift and pace to harry the lower-order batters – the politically incorrect ‘tail’ – and the picture of the lad on the burning deck comes into sharp focus.

In such circumstances, bravado won’t carry the night. It will bring an occasional four, maybe even a crowd-scurrying six, but that wouldn’t be enough, would it? Tilak needed to get his brain to work overtime, waiting for the right ball to put away, figure out where a gentle bunt would get him two and back on strike. But as much as thinking for himself, he had to find ways to keep Arshdeep and Bishnoi from getting too excited, from attempting overreach. ‘Leave it to me,’ he might have said, ‘just don’t get out.’ Arshdeep didn’t exactly heed his words, but Bishnoi was a committed follower.

Efforts such as these, pulling the fat out of the fire under immense pressure, can do wonders for anyone’s confidence and belief. Tilak hasn’t been short on either of these character traits, but there is no gainsaying how much more of a threat he will be going forward because he has tasted glorious success and will hence be hungry for more.

Those within the Mumbai cricketing circuit claim Rohit Sharma once famously said about Tilak ‘Watch out for him’. Mumbai Indians have the most robust talent scouting programme – remember John Wright, and the spotting and signing of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya? – but Tilak didn’t need any extensive scouting because he had already showcased his potential at the global Under-19 level. MI provided him with the platform to showcase his wares; Tilak is using that platform as a springboard toward potential T20I greatness.