Tilak Verma said he is confident to bat at any position, getting praise from his captain and the other experts.
IPL 2023 has completed more than 25 games in the season and we are enjoying the matches, just like every season. We have seen some close finishes and nail-biting encounters in the IPL 2023 so far. And expecting more interesting games as the tournament progresses.
Mumbai Indians didn’t start off well
Coming to the performance of Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2023, they didn’t start off well and lost the first game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). RCB chased down a target of 172 quite convincingly and since 2013, Mumbai Indians lost all their first games of the IPL seasons.
They even lost their 2nd game against their arch-rival Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 7 wickets. But Mumbai Indians made a strong comeback by winning the next games against Delhi Capitals (DC), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). They showed why they are the most successful franchise (5 IPL titles) in the Indian Premier League history.
Mumbai Indians going through a transition
Right now, Mumbai Indians are going through a transition phase with most of the core players who were a part of the Mumbai Indians team who won the titles. At one stage, they have all departments sorted with Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Quinton de Kock, Lasith Malinga, Trent Boult, and many more big match winners who were a part of the franchise.
All the players played a crucial role in different seasons to contribute to the team’s success in winning the title. But now with the exclusion of these players, Mumbai Indians are looking to make a new core group with only Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Surya Kumar Yadav still there in the team. Also, Jasprit Bumrah missed out in that season due to injury.
Mumbai Indians have many new players in the team and many fringe players and youngsters in the team. They have Cameron Green, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Tilak Verma, Tim David, Arjun Tendulkar, Hrithik Shokeen, etc who are a part of the franchise recently. Some played in the last season and some are added in the team this year.
Mumbai Indians are looking to sort things out and looking for the right balance in the team. They need some match winning batters and bowlers who could win them games like the other former players used to do.
Tilak Verma- a revelation and a young sensation
In this search, Tilak Verma is a revelation in the last year’s IPL season. He has done well last year as well and made life easier for captain Rohit Sharma as the team is looking to build a new team.
Tilak Verma, a 20 year old Hyderabad boy has good technique and a very good temperament at this level and he has shown in the last season. He has continued his good form in the IPL 2023 as well and played some handy knocks for Mumbai Indians.
In the first game against RCB, he scored 84 off 46 balls when others are not doing well. Tilak Verma also scored 41 off 29 balls in a tight run chase against Delhi Capitals.
Against KKR, he played a cameo of 30 runs in a run chase of 186. In the last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he again played a crucial cameo of 37 off 17 balls to get the team to 192 in the first inning and win the game eventually.
A youngster is confident of playing anywhere
Tilak Verma said that he is confident about playing at any position in any situation. He said- “I am always comfortable playing in any situation. I have worked on my game accounting for all possible situations. I always tell the management that I am confident to bat anywhere, in any situation.”
When asked about the approach against SRH, he said- “I felt there is turn available for the spinners. So I was just thinking about the situation, and what the team needs. I wanted to avoid taking on the spinners and just wait to play the fast bowlers.”
Rohit also praised Tilak Verma
Tilak Verma got praise from his Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma. Rohit said in the post match press conference- “We watched Tilak Verma last season. We all know what he can do. I love his approach, he doesn’t play the bowler, he plays the ball. We will see him play for a lot of teams.”
Tilak Verma also said that Sachin Tendulkar told him to have a clear mindset. The way Tilak has been playing, he will be key for the Mumbai Indians going forward, not just in this season, but in the future as well. Also, we might see him playing for India if he does continuously well. And Rohit Sharma also suggested the same.
Tilak Verma started his IPL career against DC on March 27, 2022. Since then, he has played 19 games till now and scored 611 runs at an average of 40.73 and at a strike rate of almost 140. It will be interesting to see how he does in the IPL 2023.
What do you think? Will MI win their 6th title? And will Tilak Verma do well for the team? Comment your opinion below.
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