Ahmedabad: Abhishek Sharma Tilak Varma and Tilak Varma have been India’s ace in T20Is in the five months leading up to this T20 World Cup. They complement each other while commanding the highest order with equal destructiveness and profitability. With both of them struggling to make headway in the first two weeks of the tournament, it now appears their form is relevant. Push boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!Neither took part in Saturday afternoon’s optional practice session, although Ishan Kishan Rinku Singh worked up a sweat as he practiced his power-hitting for 90 minutes under the scorching sun at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav made no attempt to gloss over Varma’s struggles. A score of 106 runs in four innings with a strike rate of around 120 does not reflect the potential or core principles of this team’s T20 batting. “I am sure he must not be happy with his current batting. He has practiced a lot in the last 2-3 practices as well,” Surya said in a candid assessment of Varma’s form. “But I don’t have any concerns about him. He has done well for India in this position,” he added.
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Do you think Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma will be back in form before the T20 World Cup ends?
Abhishek’s usual bellicose approach to power plays has played a major role in liberating India’s middle order over the past five months. His failure to initiate action coincided with Tilak’s rather indecisive approach. “The team management told him that he has to bat like this. If only one wicket falls, then he can definitely play his part in the Powerplay. But, once two wickets fall, then he has to step back and get a partnership again to make it to the tenth over. We then had enough firepower to bowl. If the team thinks that any player, like Tilak or me, if he has to bat at a strike rate of 200 or 150, then he will do that,” Surya reasoned. The extent of Abhishek’s impact can be measured as India’s batting looked visibly hamstrung, refusing to even replicate the astronomical scores in the first two bilateral series against South Africa and New Zealand. “We try to explode from the beginning. Because that’s their (batsmen’s) template. But at the end of the day, we don’t want to be a team that keeps hitting the ball,” Surya said. “To be honest, I didn’t expect us to score 230, 250, 270 points so easily. I actually feel worried for those who are worried about Abhishek. We wanted to play with his identity. We know what happens when he gets going. “The captain said with a smile. Despite Ishan Kishan’s ruthless knockout of the bowling attack in the powerplay, Tilak failed to take off. That said, the team isn’t willing to hit the panic button just yet. Both Abhishek and Tilak are participating in the World Cup for the first time. The backups currently available don’t inspire much confidence either Sanzhou Samson Stop boiling. After 18 months in the doldrums, Surya felt it was time for the team to repay Abhishek and Tilak. “Last year, they had it all covered for us. This time, the rest of us will do it,” Surya said.
