Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar took a cheeky dig at the young Indian batter Tilak Varma after being named in the 17-men squad for the Asia Cup 2023. The 20-year-old earned his maiden call-up to the Men in Blue for the continental event following his exploits in the shorter format of the game.
Tilak Varma has grabbed the eyes of many experts and fans for his outstanding performance in the T20 series against the West Indies. The left-handed youngster has impressed everyone with his calm and composed batting in International cricket and is potentially seen as a candidate to be part of the India squad for the ODI World Cup.
Speaking on Star Sports after the Asia Cup squad announcement, Sanjay Manjrekar feels that Tilak Varma has earned his call-up to the Indian team with his performance in domestic cricket and took a cheeky dig at the youngster for failing in the first two T20 games against Ireland.
“Yes, because he is in hot form. Look at his domestic career, he’s got the numbers to merit a call for India. And also, tongue in cheek, he is also getting ready for 50 overs cricket by failing in his last two matches in the T20 format. So he is getting ready for 50-over cricket,” Sanjay Manjrekar said.
It is an interesting move by the Indian team management to include Tilak Varma for the Asia Cup 2023, as the team has got only Asia Cup and Australia series to finalize their final squad for the ODI World Cup in India with the primary squad expected to be announced before September 5.
It’s Hard To Find A Weakness In Tilak Varma In White Ball Cricket – Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar feels that it is difficult to find a weakness in Tilak Varma in white-ball cricket and asserted that it is important for a middle order to make an impact in the middle overs and reckons that it is important to have quality batters in the team.
“It is hard to find a weakness in him, in white ball cricket. And as I’ve mentioned before, let’s have some impact, quality players at number four, five, and six. There’s a tremendous rush for spots number one, two, and three, in Indian cricket, let’s have these number four, five, six batters out there,” Sanjay Manjrekar added.
Tilak Varma was the best batter for India in the series against the Men in Maroon as he batted brilliantly on a wicket where most of the Indian batters struggled to get going in the West Indies and would look to prove his worth for the Indian team in the ODI format of the game.