"Future of Indian Cricket"- Fans erupt as youngster Tilak Varma makes his international debut in 1st India vs West Indies T20I 

Mumbai Indians batter Tilak Varma is all set to make his international debut in the first T20I against the West Indies on Thursday, August 3. India won the 3-match ODI series on Tuesday by a 2-1 margin. The two teams will now square off in the 5-match T20I series, which starts today in Trinidad.

West Indies captain Rovman Powell won the toss and opted to bat first in the contest. Team India handed T20I debuts to Tilak Varma and Mukesh Kumar, who have been performing well in domestic circuits. Mukesh already made his Test and ODI debuts last month on the same tour.

Middle-order batter Tilak Varma will be donning the Indian jersey for the first time after his sensational performances for the Mumbai Indians over the past two seasons.

Fans were highly excited to see Tilak's name in the playing XI for the first T20I against the West Indies due to his impressive track record in the IPL. They wished him well through their reactions on Twitter.

Here are some of the reactions:

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"We might be coming here in a few months to play in the T20 World Cup"- Hardik Pandya on the importance of the series

Speaking after losing the toss, Team India captain Hardik Pandya shed light on the importance of the T20I series.

He stated that it gives them a chance to gauge the conditions and offer some exposure to young players, as the World Cup will happen in this region next year.

Pandya said:

"We might be coming here in a few months to play in the T20 World Cup, so this series gives us a good chance to be prepared. A lot of the players we have now might be a part of that team, so it will give them the experience to play in these conditions.

He added:

"I try to keep things simple (as a captain). I am not bothered much by results; I try to focus more on the process. We try to identify things that we can do as a group and work on that. We are playing three spinners."

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India Playing XI

Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar

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West Indies Playing XI

Kyle Mayers, Brandon King, Johnson Charles(w), Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell(c), Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy