I have always loved red-ball cricket: Tilak Varma
Cricketer Tilak Varma expressed his preference for red-ball cricket despite his reputation as a white-ball specialist. He highlighted his recent performance in the Duleep Trophy as evidence of his commitment to the longer format of the game.
Why it matters
The article offers insight into the career priorities of a prominent Indian athlete and the challenges of balancing different cricket formats.
For the current generation of cricket fans, Tilak Varma’s image is that of a dashing, short-format batter for India and Mumbai Indians.
But over the last four days in the Duleep Trophy, the 23-year-old revealed another face – of that of a steely red-ball player.
Captaining South Zone in the semifinal versus North, he made an unbeaten 116 from 250 balls to rescue his side from a precarious 80 for five. In the second essay, he was unconquered on 51 (79b) as South chased 181 with ease.
“I have always loved red-ball cricket,” Tilak said after his match-winning performance. “I had never dreamt of playing white-ball [cricket] for India, but it’s God’s plan that I have played T20 and One-day for India. But my strength is the red-ball game.”
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