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IND vs SA T20 World Cup: Ahead of the Super Eight clash of the T20 World Cup against South Africa, India captain Suryakumar Yadav has come out in firm support of Tilak Varma, noting that the young batter is playing according to the team management's plan.
Tilak has a career strike rate exceeding 141, but struggled against slow bowlers on slower pitches, resulting in his strike rate dipping to the 120s in the T20 World Cup.
The young batter has struggled to accelerate his innings, failing to match his adaptability, with only 11 boundaries and three sixes in four games.
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"I mean I have told him, the team management has told him that he has to bat that way. If one wicket is down, then he is definitely go and have his own game in the powerplay," Suryakumar said in a pre-match press conference.
"But as soon as two wickets are down, then he has to take a little bit of backseat, get a partnership again, get to the 10th over and then we have enough firepower to continue and take on the bowling," the Indian skipper explained the rationale behind the approach, although it wasn't exactly convincing.
Suryakumar Yadav noted that Tilak has set high personal benchmarks, stating that the batter is aware of his capabilities and is working to meet expectations.
"Definitely, I am sure he must not be happy with how he is batting right now, I am sure. He must be and he has practised a lot as well in the last 2-3 practice sessions. But I don't have any concern regarding him. He has been delivering for India at No. 3 really well and I am very confident that he will do it better," Suryakumar said.
The India captain laughed off suggestions that Tilak could be replaced with Sanju Samson, saying, "You mean, I should make him (Samson) play for Tilak?. It's going well in PowerPlay. We're making 40-50 runs. That's normal cricket. Now we've played so well in bilaterals. It happens. We also have expectations of ourselves. Expectation to make 220, 240, 250."
"But wickets are a little different here. The four wickets we have played on so far were a little different and challenging. Off-spinners were not bowling earlier but are bowling now. So we have started preparation for that and hopefully we will tackle it as we start our Super 8 journey," he added.