IND v BAN, Asia Cup 2023: Tilak Varma makes ODI debut, receives maiden cap from Rohit Sharma
20-year-old Tilak Varma made his ODI debut on Friday, September 15 against Bangladesh in their final Super Fours match of Asia Cup 2023.
With India having already qualified for the final, the team management was looking to test the bench strength and Tilak got the nod to play the game in the high-profile tournament in Colombo.
Tilak Varma was handed his ODI cap by captain Rohit Sharma at the team huddle against Bangladesh on Friday.
Tilak Varma was picked in India’s 17-man Asia Cup 2023 squad despite him not having played ODI cricket before. The Mumbai Indians batter impressed during his T20I debut in the West Indies in August. Tilak also showcased his bowling ability and the selection committee picked him as a backup middle-order batter due to injury concerns.
Tilak Varma gets a game despite not having made the ODI World Cup provisional squad as India are keeping their back-up options ready in the lead-up to the quadrennial showpiece event.
Notably, Tilak Varma was picked as part of Ruturaj Gaikwad-led squad for the Asian Games, starting September 23.
Tilak was in good form in his maiden T20I series against the West Indies. He has played 7 T20Is so far for India and scored 174 runs. Tilak showcased incredible composure and maturity, hitting a fifty and a 49 not out against the West Indies. Notably, Rohit Sharma earmarked Tilak as a future all-format player after his heroics for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023.
Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl against Bangladesh, saying that it would be a good test to chase a score under the lights after having won against Pakistan and Sri Lanka while batting first.
Meanwhile, India made as many as 5 changes to the XI, resting the likes of Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah.
Vice-captain Hardik Pandya was also rested for the dead-rubber against Bangladesh. India gave opportunities to Suryakumar Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Prasidh Krishna, and Shardul Thakur a game on Friday.