Ryan Ten Doeschate, India’s assistant coach, is adamant that Tilak Varma is best suited to bat at number six, providing the hosts with the necessary firepower at the end of the innings.
However, in Sunday’s virtual “quarter-final” matchup with the West Indies in the T20 World Cup in Kolkata, that won’t necessarily be the case.
The team management sent the stylish Mumbai Indians batsman at No. 6 against Zimbabwe after a lackluster opening five games in the competition, in which he struggled at one down and saw his strike-rate (120) completely plummet. He sprang right into his new role, slamming a 16-ball 44 with three boundaries and four sixes at an incredible strike-rate of 275.
“No, it’s not a foregone conclusion that he’ll bat at five or six tomorrow. I thought the other night, Tilak, he looked like a number six. He looked like someone who’s really comfortable at a 10-over entry point. And I think that’s a massive kudos to him, the way he’s adapted his game. I don’t think he’s been short on form,” PTI quoted Ten Doeschate as saying on his new batting position.
Tilak appeared at ease at the end of the Indian innings after having trouble getting off to a fast start, as he easily destroyed the Zimbabwean attack.
“I thought that was to look back to his old Tilak and play the situation beautifully. So it’s comforting to know that we have a little bit more power down the middle,” Ten Doeschate said.
Ten Doeschate believes the West Indies may bring back left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein against India.
“They (West Indies) might play Chase. They might play Akeal. We kind of bank on them playing Chase. So we have got different entry points for the guys ideally where they come in.”
Ten Doeschate also intended to give Tilak some leeway because he had to miss four weeks of competitive cricket due to abdominal surgery.
“I mentioned before, spending four weeks on the sideline, coming into the tournament and slowly building up is kind of what you expect,” the assistant coach observed.
“Like I always say, the link between getting out of the blocks quickly and setting up for the back end is the key to India’s success. And it’s nice to know that Tilak can perform those roles,” Ten Doeschate said.
