Former Indian Test opener Wasim Jaffer has urged the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel to consider Tilak Varma for One-Day cricket with the World Cup on the horizon. There are reports suggesting that KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are in race against time to be fit for the ODI showpiece and Jaffer feels throwing Varma into the ODI mix is not a bad idea.
However, Varma is only three T20Is old in his young International career and he is yet to make his ODI debut but Jaffer likes what he has seen of the young batter so far. Varma has been the most impressive Indian batter in the ongoing five-match T20I series against the West Indies, returning with scores of 39, 51 and 49*.
The left-hander scored 39 off 22 in his debut game and then scored 51 from 41 balls in the second T20I. The southpaw scored an unbeaten 49 in the third game and added 87 runs with Suryakumar Yadav to help India register a seven-wicket win.
Furthermore, Varma has scored 1236 runs in 25 List A matches at an impressive average of 56.18.
Jaffer told ESPNcricinfo: “If at all India need a batter to look at in 50 overs, I won’t be surprised if it’s Tilak Varma. The kind of maturity that he has shown, I’ll be happy to see him coming into the ODI mix also. There are talks that Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are not ready yet. Why not throw in a youngster like Tilak Varma? He’s shown a lot of maturity and [gives] that left-hander option. We’ve been looking for a top-order left-hander. Why not Tilak Varma?.”
Jaffer admitted they are short on time as one would want to back a slightly more experienced player in the ODI World Cup but he is ready to put his weight behind the Andhra Pradesh batter.
“We are definitely short on time. You want a guy to play at least 15-20 ODIs. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. We expected Shreyas and KL to be ready for the Asia Cup. We don’t know whether they will be available for Australia ODIs. I’ll probably take a bet on Tilak Varma if at all,” the 45-year-old added.
The former domestic giant added he doesn’t remember any player to be as consistent as Tilak Varma has been in his first three games.
“In the first three innings, I can’t remember anyone being as consistent, as mature or as assured in his strokeplay as Tilak Varma. He’s very young and for him to come out and bat in certain situations, an absolute delight to see. He came out with the rain coming in and there were talks that it might go to Duckworth-Lewis.
Varma smashed two fours on the first two balls he faced in the third game and he was able to get off the blocks in a jiffy.
“He came out and attacked the first 2-3 balls. It goes on to show how tuned in he is with the team’s demand and the game sense that he has got. That is very refreshing to see,” Jaffer explained.
The fourth T20I between these two teams will be played on Saturday at Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill, Florida.
