India captain Rohit Sharma has applauded Tilak Varma for his stunning show in the ongoing T20 series in West Indies. He also said that his talented teammate is driven by a hunger to achieve. The veteran also called the youngster a mature player with a clear mindset on what he wants to do or achieve as well. However, Varma scored 39 (22), 51 (41) and 49*(37) in the first three T20Is against West Indies and he is currently the leading run-scorer in the five-match series, having scored 139 runs at a strike rate of 139 as well.
Speaking to PTI, Rohit Sharma said: “Tilak Varma is so talented – he got the hunger, that is the most important thing, he is so mature and whenever I talk with him – you get the feel that he knows when he wants to hit & what he wants to do.”
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma has backed Suryakumar Yadav to do the job for India in the ODI format despite his inconsistency in the one-day format as well. In 26 ODIs, he has scored only 511 runs at an average of 24.33 and many have questioned his place in the team for the upcoming Asia Cup as well as the ODI World Cup as well.
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“There is no question about his ability in the T20 format. The challenges (in ODIs) are different. He is really working hard and he is talking to a lot of guys who have played a lot of ODI cricket as to what attitude and mindset (to have). Surya is also in the mix. The team management backs him to come good in ODIs, but despite the chances, he is yet to adapt. He is the kind of player, you also have to give him that freedom to go and bat the way he does. You cannot tell him to face 100 balls and make 50 runs. It is important to give a batter like him the cushion of extra games so that he finds that groove, gets that confidence. The way he started IPL this year, in the first 4-5 games he did not have too many runs but look what he did after that,” Rohit Sharma again stated.
However, Rohit Sharma also applauded the way Suryakumar Yadav played in the third T20I against the West Indies and that’s how he expects him to play in the ODI format as well.
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“For a player like him, it is our job to create such a situation and scenario — it’s okay if you don’t do well in 2-3 games, but when you come off, we know you will win games straightaway. That is what he did in the third T20I, the batters at the top got out, and for Surya to go and bat like that,” Rohit Sharma concluded.
