Ravichandran Ashwin, Wasim Jaffer and MSK Prasad back Tilak Varma’s selection for Asia Cup and ODI World Cup 2023

Young batting sensation Tilak Varma has started his India career on a very high note. The left-handed batter recently made his national debut against West Indies and impressed many with his phenomenal striking ability.

Tilak recorded scores of 39, 50 and 49 in his first three T20Is against the Caribbean side and became the first Indian to hammer 30+ runs on three consecutive instances after his debut. The sensational show by Tilak attracted much appreciation from fans and experts alike. Among all, India’s star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also lauded the youngster for his skilful batting.

Ashwin backs Tilak’s selection for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023:

Speaking on his official Youtube Channel, Ashwin urged the Indian selectors and management to consider Tilak’s talent and include him in the squad for the upcoming Asia Cup and ODI World Cup 2023. The Tamil Nadu cricketer emphasized India lacking a left-handed batter and declared Tilak the best solution for the Men in Blue’s middle-order woes. Ashwin even gave a technical argument to back his views.

“This is neck-and-neck with respect to the World Cup. So, will they think about Tilak Varma as an option if we don’t have enough backups? Because Sanju Samson has performed really well in ODIs. But the exciting part about Tilak Varma is that he is a left-hander and Team India is lacking left-handers. Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) is the only left-handed batter in the top 7,” said Ashwin.

“And look at the spinners from all the top teams. Australia have Ashton Agar. England have Moeen Ali and a leggie in Adil Rashid. So, most teams don’t have a finger spinner to challenge the left-handed batters. That is why the emergence of Tilak is crucial,” he added.

MSK Prasad highlights Tilak’s batting prowess in the domestic circuit:

On the other hand, former chief selector MSK Prasad while talking to PTI, also expressed his desire to see Tilak make it to India’s World Cup squad. However, he kept Shreyas Iyer as his first option and the Hyderabad batter as the injury replacement of Shreyas.

“Look at his List A record for Hyderabad. He has played 25 List A games and has an average of 55 plus (56.18). Five hundreds and five half-centuries. It means at least 50 per cent times he is converting fifties into hundreds. A strike rate of 100 plus. I think it won’t be a bad idea provided Shreyas (Iyer) can’t make it. Only then you can think of Varma. But I am sure he will be a white ball regular for India across formats going forward,” said Prasad.

Jaffer bets on Tilak if injury-prone Rahul and Shreyas can’t make it to Asia Cup and World Cup:

Former India Test opener Wasim Jaffer also backed the idea of Ashwin and Prasad. Jaffer admitted that Tilak would be the best choice if KL Rahul and Iyer don’t make it to the team due to fitness issues stating that he would take a bet on the youngster.

“Ideally, you would want a player to get 15 to 20 games. We expected Shreyas and KL to be ready for Asia Cup but we are reading they won’t be ready for Asia Cup and we don’t know if they would be available for Australia ODIs as we don’t know how serious are those injuries. If you want to try a guy, why not Tilak Varma? No matter whoever plays, he would be under-cooked, so why not Tilak Varma? I would take a bet on him,” Jaffer told ESPNCricinfo.