Asia Cup 2023: Tilak Varma earns ODI cap against Bangladesh

Flamboyant batter Tilak Varma is all set to make his ODI debut after he made the cut in the playing XI against Bangladesh in the final Super Four stage match. Notably, the two sides have squared off at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday, September 17.

After cementing their berth in the summit clash of the ACC event with a win against Sri Lanka in a low-scoring affair, the Indian think tank decided to make a couple of changes for the final Super Four stage match. Against Bangladesh, the Men in Blue have made five changes, and among them is Tilak Varma, who is set to make his debut. 

The young cricketer is he received his ODI cap from captain Rohit Sharma prior to the match.

All set for his ODI debut! 👌👌

Congratulations to Tilak Varma as he receives his #TeamIndia ODI cap from captain Rohit Sharma 👏 👏#AsiaCup2023 | #INDvBAN pic.twitter.com/kTwSEevAtn

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 15, 2023

Apart from Tilak’s inclusion, the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Shami, and Shardul Thakur have made the cut in the starting XI. Tilak made massive strides in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 and garnered massive attention for his impressive stroke-play.

The 20-year-old southpaw has featured in seven T20Is thus far and collected 174 runs at an average of 34.80. He accumulated 343 runs in 11 appearances at a solid average of 42.88 with his franchise Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2023.

Team India won the toss and have decided to bowl first at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo against the Bangla Tigers. On the flip side, Tanzim Shakib makes his debut for Bangladesh whereas Litton Das will take over the duty behind the stumps as veteran keeper Mushfiqur Rahim has been dropped.

It is worth mentioning that the Men in Blue became the first team in the ongoing ACC event to book a spot in the summit clash. Meanwhile, co-hosts and defending champions Sri Lanka too made it to the final following a narrow last ball win against Pakistan in a virtual semi-final clash on Thursday, September 14. 

Team India will look to win consecutive matches on the trot against Bangladesh before turning their attention towards the final. On the other hand, the Bangla Tigers have been eliminated but will play for pride against India.

Also Check: Most Runs in Asia Cup 2023