20-year-old Tilak Varma made his India debut in the first T20I against the West Indies on Thursday, August, and impressed one and all with his composure and ability to play breathtaking strokes.
Though India lost the encounter by 4 runs despite chasing only 150 runs, Tilak Varma top-scored with 39 in 22 runs with 3 sixes and 2 fours and two of those maximums came on the second and third deliveries he faced in international cricket.
Varma was part of the Indian squad that won the 2020 U19 World Cup and in a candid chat with BCCI, revealed that he wanted to win the World Cup for India and also added that he didn’t expect to make his Men in Blue debut this soon.
"Everyone has this dream of playing for the country, I never thought that I would be able to play for India so soon in my career, because, after the Under-19 World Cup, there was the coronavirus issue which happened, so I thought let me just use the opportunity that I get," Varma said in a video shared by BCCI.
"From childhood, it has been my goal to win India the World Cup. In my mind, I always think about ways to win the World Cup. I keep visualising every day that I will go and bat in this number and win World Cup," he said.
After shining in the U19 World Cup, Varma was picked by Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2022 auction and he scored 397 runs in 14 matches that season. Then in the IPL 2023, Varma hammered 343 runs at an average of 42.8 in 11 matches.
"Now I got the India jersey and I used to visualise, but now, it has come true, so I feel that moment (of winning World Cup) will also come soon. This is a great feeling, I can't express it, everyone asks me but I am just feeling really happy and proud. So taking it step by step, let's see how it happens,” he further added.
While India will be hosting the ODI World Cup in September-October this year, the T20 World Cup will be played in June 2024 and will be hosted by the West Indies and the USA.
(PTI inputs)
