'Brave yet smart move' - Sanjay Manjrekar, Tom Moody laud India for naming Tilak Varma in Asia Cup squad

Former cricketers Sanjay Manjrekar and Tom Moody have backed India’s decision to select youngster Tilak Varma in the 2023 Asia Cup squad, which was named by chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and India skipper Rohit Sharma in a press conference on August 21. 

The 18-member squad, including Sanju Samson as a reserve, had Tilak’s name after the youngster shone bright in the Indian Premier League while plying his trade for the Mumbai Indians, which also led to his international debut. Tilak, 20, made his T20I debut on the recent West Indies tour and impressed instantly, ending up as the leading run-getter for visitors India with a tally of 173 runs in five innings at an average of 57.66 and strike rate of over 140, including a half-century (51) and unbeaten 49.

While India lost the five-match series 3-2 to register a rare series defeat, Tilak showcased enough ability to earn the selectors’ confidence to an extent that he has been included in the Asia Cup squad despite being uncapped in the 50-over format.

Manjrekar highlighted Tilak’s “red-hot” form, adding that there is no visible weakness in the young talent. Notably, Varma is also being looked at as a potential solution of the left-hander puzzle in the Indian middle-order, which has been right-hander heavy more often than not in recent times.

“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. 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,” Manjrekar told on Star Sports.

Agreeing with his co-panellist Manjrekar’s viewpoint, former Australia player and a renowned coach Tom Moody highlighted the variety that Tilak adds to the squad. 

“I think it’s a wonderful selection. I'll call it brave, but I also call it in the same breath smart. He is clearly a player on the rise, as I touched on earlier. He’s got not only skill but an enormous temperament, and he is showing that on a regular basis. We have talked about the value of left-handedness in the top order, so him coming in at that number five or six position is going to be valuable for India, particularly to have that balance against spin,” he said.

India, slotted in Group A, will start their Asia Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan in Pallekele on September 2 followed by the fixture against Nepal on September 4 at the same venue.