Tilak Varma walked out to bat for South Zone on the second day of the Duleep Trophy here on Tuesday with new confidence. For on the previous night, Tilak had earned his maiden international call-up, as part of the T20I squad to tour West Indies.
“My childhood friend called me and said that I had been selected. I made a video call to my parents — they were crying. My coach (Salam Bayash) was also very emotional,” Tilak said here.
Tilak was picked after his stellar show for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023, where he scored 343 runs at an average of 42.88 and a strike-rate of 164.11.
The Hyderabad southpaw stated that he received crucial tips from MI captain Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.
“I’ve spoken a lot to Sachin sir, Rohit bhai and Virat sir. The main thing they say is that when your subconscious mind is in the right place, you will do well. They tell me to visualise how I will bat even when I am in the hotel room. That is the sort of mindset I’m working on,” Tilak said.
It was not the best day for Tilak with the bat, as his 46 was not enough to give South Zone the first-innings lead over North Zone.
“Unfortunately, we did not get a big total, but we are still looking for an outright win,” Tilak said.
