"He showed once again that he has come ready" - Aakash Chopra lauds Tilak Varma's knock in 2nd India vs West Indies T20I

Aakash Chopra has lauded Tilak Varma for proving once again that he has come prepared to showcase his wares in international cricket.

Varma scored 51 runs off 41 deliveries as India set a 153-run target for the West Indies in the second T20I in Guyana on Sunday, August 6. However, his knock went in vain as Rovman Powell and Co. chased down the target with two wickets and seven deliveries to spare to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

While reflecting on India's batting in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra heaped praise on Tilak Varma, saying:

"How well Tilak Varma is batting. Actually, Tilak Varma is the shining star. Yuzi Chahal is the shining star. Hardik Pandya's bowling is the shining star. But the way, Tilak Varma batted, he showed once again that the guy has come ready."

The former Indian opener pointed out that the Indian Premier League (IPL) exposure has helped the youngster's cause. He elaborated:

"To play with so much maturity at 20 years of age, this is the advantage of Gen Z because you play so much cricket. The kid has played two years of the IPL. So now when you reach this level, you come absolutely ready."

Varma has amassed 740 runs at an average of 38.95 and a strike rate of 144.53 in 25 innings for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. His consistent performances in the last two seasons of the prestigious league earned him a place in the Indian T20I squad for the ongoing series against the Windies.

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"Slightly undercooked and underprepared players used to reach the Indian level earlier" - Aakash Chopra

Tilak Varma smashed 343 runs at a strike rate of 164.11 in 11 innings in IPL 2023. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra pointed out that Indian players are no longer underprepared when they reach the international stage. He observed:

"This was not the case earlier. Slightly undercooked and underprepared players used to reach the Indian level earlier. Now our players come absolutely prepared for the international stage."

While praising Varma for scoring his maiden half-century, the cricketer-turned-commentator added that Hardik Pandya got dismissed when he seemed set to make a more substantial contribution. He stated:

"That was, of course, Tilak Varma. He hit his first half-century. He was slightly lucky for sure, but the guy has luck (lak) in his game. Hardik Pandya was playing well but he also got out."

Chopra highlighted that the Men in Blue posted a slightly below-par total as they seemed to be looking to somehow bat out the last two overs. While acknowledging that Ravi Bishnoi and Arshdeep Singh played a couple of big shots, he added that India's batting is letting them down.