AHMEDABAD: Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma have been India’s T20I batting trump cards over the five months leading up to this T20 World Cup. They have complemented each other while manning the top-order by being equally destructive and bankable. As both of them struggled to hit their stride in the first fortnight of the tournament, it now appears their form is correlated. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Both stayed away from the optional practice session on Saturday afternoon even as Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh practised power-hitting for 90 minutes, stewing in their own sweat under the blazing sun at the Narendra Modi stadium.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav didn’t try to veil Varma’s struggles. 106 runs in four innings at a strike-rate of around 120 doesn’t reflect the potential or the core principles of this team’s T20 batting. “I am sure he must not be happy with how he is batting right now. He has practiced a lot as well in the last 2-3 practice sessions,” was Surya’s candid take on Varma’s form. “But I don’t have any concerns about him. He has done well for India at this position,” he added.
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Abhishek’s consistent belligerence in the Powerplay has played a great part in liberating India’s middle order in the last five months. His failure to get started has coincided with Tilak’s rather indecisive approach. “The team management has told him that he has to bat this way. If only one wicket falls, then he definitely can play his own game in the Powerplay. But, as soon as two wickets are down, then he has to take a backseat and get a partnership again to reach the 10th over. After that we have enough firepower to take on the bowling. If the team feels that any player, like Tilak or me, if he has to bat with a strike rate of 200 or 150, then he will do it,” Surya reasoned. The extent of Abhishek’s impact could be gauged as the Indian batting has looked visibly chained and refused to even come close to replicating the astronomic scores from the two preceding bilateral series against South Africa and New Zealand. “We are trying to explode from the start. Because that is their (the batters’) template. But at the end, we don’t want to be a team that keeps on hitting,” Surya mentioned. “Honestly, I didn’t think we could score 230, 250, 270 so easily in the first place. I am actually worried for those who are worried for Abhishek. We want to play with his identity. We know what happens when he gets going,” the captain said with a smirk. Tilak has not taken off despite Ishan Kishan ruthlessly taking down bowling attacks in the Powerplay. That said, the team isn’t willing to press the panic button yet. Both Abhishek and Tilak are playing their first World Cup. The backup at disposal currently doesn’t inspire much confidence either with Sanju Samson going off the boil. Having endured an 18-month run of poor form, Surya feels its time the team paid Abhishek and Tilak back. “Last year, they covered everything for us. This time, rest of us will do it,” Surya stated.
