Asia Cup 2023: "Tilak Varma Is A Person That Is Boasting That Confidence And Calmness" - Tom Moody

Former Australia National Cricket Team player Tom Moody has lavished praise on the 20-year-old batter Tilak Varma following his selection in India’s Asia Cup squad.

Tilak Varma has received a surprise ODI call-up for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. He is part of the 17-man squad of Team India that was announced by Ajit Agarkar and Rohit Sharma on Monday.

The youngster, who plays for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL, has just played 7 international games for India that too in T20Is, but the batter has shown a lot of promise, as a result, he has been included in the squad for the continental tournament.

Speaking on Star Sports/ESPNcricinfo’s ‘Selection Day Live’ program, Tom Moody, who has been a successful coach, said that he looks for temperament in players and Tilak has got that. He said that Tilak Varma has performed quite well for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL and Team India and he looks confident and calm.

“There’s one thing that I look out for from a coach’s perspective – temperament. There are so many players who have got oodles amount of talent and skill with bat in hand. When it comes to game time, when it comes to game situations, you look at temperament,” he said.

“What we have seen over the last 12 months or so with Tilak Varma, with the IPL and with his recent outings with the Indian team, is a person that is boasting that confidence and that calmness in character. That goes a long way to domestic player transitioning into an international player,” Moody added.

Tilak Varma has got an abundance of the things that are really important to make it on an international stage – Tom Moody

Moody further said that Tilak Varma is not one of those players who do well in domestic cricket but fail to handle the pressure at the international level. He elaborated:

“A lot of players fall short of that mark. Very good domestic players, but once you get exposed on the international stage, all that skill and talent counts for very little. It’s all to do with composure and character. It appears so far that Tilak Varma has got an abundance of the things that are really important to make it on an international stage. I think that has been the shining light and that’s why he’s in that’s squad.”

The 20-year-old recently made his debut in the T20I series against West Indies and finished as the leading run-getter for India with 173 runs in his bag. However, he has failed miserably in the ongoing three-match T20I series against Ireland as he has registered scores of 0 and 1.