Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has highlighted that Tilak Varma added another feather to the Mumbai Indians players’ tradition of opening their match in international cricket with a six. However, Varma made his debut in the first T20I between India and the West Indies in Tarouba, Trinidad, on Thursday, August 3 where he got off the mark with a six over square leg as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “Tilak Varma and Mukesh Kumar made their debuts. Yashasvi Jaiswal could have got the debut cap but if you have a spot vacant at No. 4 and you want to play someone there, then Tilak Varma and not Yashasvi was the right option. What do these Mumbai Indians boys do? Whenever they play their debut game, they open their account with a six.”
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He further added: “Suryakumar Yadav did that, Ishan Kishan (on ODI debut) did that and Tilak Varma has done the same thing. Tilak Varma looked outstanding. If you check the scorecard, all Indian batters were going at a run-a-ball. There was just one batsman who was playing with absolute freedom.”
However, Tilak Varma smashed 39 runs off 22 balls with the help of two fours and three sixes. But, his efforts went in vain as India lost the match by four runs s well.
Aakash Chopra again stated: “Mukesh Kumar’s story is different. He wears a new cap every Thursday. He got the Test cap on the first Thursday, the ODI cap when the next Thursday came, and then the T20I cap on the Thursday after that. He might ask for another cap next Thursday. He has been absolutely outstanding. It’s a beautiful story.”
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“The way Mukesh Kumar bowled in the end, bowled yorkers consistently, he didn’t concede a single boundary in his last two overs. There was a no-ball and a free-hit for sure, but he didn’t concede a four. I was a little disappointed that you stopped him after the first over, you could have bowled him a second over,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
