Tilak Varma disclosed on Wednesday that he was able to regain his form with an IPL hundred thanks to Rohit Sharma’s suggestion to play the first 15–20 balls without overanalyzing the match circumstances.
The Mumbai Indians defeated Gujarat Titans in their most recent game to end a four-match losing streak. Tilak scored 101 not out to set up a huge 99-run victory.
After a slow start, which saw the left-handed batsman reach 19 not out off 22 balls at one point, Tilak scored an undefeated century off 45 balls, punctuated by 8 fours and 7 sixes.
“I was talking especially with Rohit bhai. He told me to ‘play 15-20 balls’ and that ‘you know what you are capable of’,” PTI quoted Tilak telling reporters at the Wankhede Stadium on the eve of MI’s clash against Chennai Super Kings.
“(Rohit said) ‘if you play 15 balls, everyone knows what you will do after that. Just do not look at the situation or anything else, play 15 balls and we will see whatever the result would be’.”
“… That gave me confidence and I had it in my mind to play the 15 balls and to see the rest after that. Once I had played those 15 balls, you get that instinct automatically, that I will hit now,” Tilak added.
Following a dismal IPL start in which the left-handed batter made 20, 0, 14, 1, and 8, Tilak claimed he did not put any pressure on himself.
“(In a couple of matches) I did not get much time on the wicket and I had to go from the start. Sometimes, it comes my way and sometimes I get out, so I did not take much (pressure) on me that I was not in a good form,” he said.
Suryakumar Yadav, who has only scored one fifty in this IPL, is not too distant from having a significant innings, according to Tilak.
“I would not say that Surya bhai is out of form; he is batting well. If you see the shots he is playing in the match, they are coming from the middle of the bat and it doesn’t look like he is out of touch. It is just a matter of one innings which he is waiting for,” Tilak said.
“The same thing had happened in the first match of the T20 World Cup. If the starting match had not gone well for the (Indian) team, the atmosphere would have been different and he proved it there,” Tilak said.
Even though No. 3 is still his preferred position, Tilak has fluctuated in the batting order for both MI and India.
“I have been hearing the same question (on batting order) for the last three years. I love to bat at No.3 but I am always up (to bat) where the team needs me to whenever it is Nos. 4, 5, 6 or 7,” he replied when asked about the change of slots.
When runs aren’t coming in, the 23-year-old Tilak claimed he doesn’t follow any particular training strategy.
“To be honest, I always think about what is the need (of the team) at that moment,” he said.
“Sometimes, I feel like I have to practice more and sometimes, I feel like I have to stay off the game. Before going to sleep, I think about how I am feeling mentally. It’s not always possible to practice more in order to score runs — there is nothing like that.”
“In the World Cup, I did not score many runs at the start and I felt I needed to practice and I practiced a lot. But now (in IPL), when I did not score in 2-3 matches, I felt like staying off the game.”
“I did not train much but I spoke with my childhood coach and if there is anything to share about batting, I do it with Rohit bhai,” Tilak added.
