“Mumbai Indians need it because Suryakumar Yadav is a bit off color” - Wasim Jaffer on Tilak Varma’s impressive performances

Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer has hailed young Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Tilak Varma for his consistent performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Jaffer opined that Varma’s contribution is extremely significant for the team since Suryakumar Yadav is struggling big time.

Varma, 20, has scored 147 runs in three matches at an average of 73.50 and a strike rate of 158.06. He kicked off IPL 2023 with a brilliant 84* off 46 balls in Mumbai’s first match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

On Tuesday, April 11, he played another fine knock of 41 in 29 balls as MI beat Delhi Capitals (DC) by six wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Analyzing Varma’s excellent efforts with the willow, Jaffer told ESPNcricinfo:

“The way Tilak Varma is performing in only his second IPL season… He was very good in the first season as well and it looks like he has continued from where he left off. He is looking like a very experienced player. The way he has carried the innings and even the manner in which he played against RCB, it feels really good to see a 20-year-old batting with such maturity.

“Mumbai Indians need it because Suryakumar Yadav is a bit off color. He has been a bit unfortunate and is going through a tough phase. It is important for players like Tilak Varma to put their hands up.”

While Varma has made a significant impact with the bat in IPL 2023, Suryakumar has registered scores of 15, one, and 0.

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“Good sign for Indian cricket as well” - Wasim Jaffer on Rohit Sharma’s half-century

While Varma continued his good form in IPL 2023, MI skipper Rohit Sharma returned to form with 65 off 45 balls against Delhi.

Mumbai were set to chase 173 and Rohit led the way with an aggressive half-century. Speaking about the significance of Rohit’s knock, Jaffer opined:

"Rohit Sharma’s return to form matters a lot for Mumbai Indians. MI don’t have the batting line-up of old where they had Hardik and Krunal Pandya. Kieron Pollard was in excellent form and they had Quinton de Kock as well. Their current batting line-up is somewhat inexperienced, so a lot depends on Rohit Sharma’s form.

"One of the reasons Mumbai did not perform well last season was because Rohit was not in rhythm. He batted really well [on Tuesday] and this is a good sign. The pitch was slightly difficult to bat on. So this is a good sign not only for Mumbai, but for Indian cricket as well.”

Rohit struck six fours and four sixes in his sublime knock before being dismissed by Mustafizur Rahman.