Tilak Varma sits on the same pedestal as former Indian star MS Dhoni

Former Indian national cricket team batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has compared young Thilak Varman to legendary wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni.

Sanjay Manjrekar made this big comparison after Tilak Varma’s impressive performance in the second T20I against the England national cricket team at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepak, Chennai.

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Tilak Varma came out as a lone batsman in Chennai T20I

22-year-old Tilak Varma was the lone batsman for the Indian national cricket team in the second T20I. He played a brilliant innings to lead the team to victory and take a 2-0 lead in the series.

Varma started aggressively and took the English bowlers to the cleaners. In particular, he destroyed Premier Pacers Jofra Archer by smashing 30 runs from 9 balls.

After a rough start, Varma had to play a bit more cautiously in the middle overs as India lost wickets at regular intervals. Tilak Varma showed a calm approach and the fall of wickets did not affect the game.

He ended the game with four runs to end the game. Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 72 won the man of the match award.

He was very happy to stay there till the end – Sanjay Manjrekar

Speaking on ESPNCricinfo’s Timeout after the match, Manjrekar Varma said he has a lot of faith in his ability to take India over the finish line as he didn’t panic even when the boundary didn’t come.

“Absolutely. The belief that he can see India through to the end and even in this run, there was no panic around the 18th over,” he said.

Manjrekar added, “Even in the late 19th over, you could see that India wasn’t getting the boundaries that could get the pressure off.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni had the same belief – Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar added that the confidence shown by Tilak Varma reminded him of the legendary MS Dhoni, who took the game deep and ended the matches of the Indian national cricket team.

“He looks like a guy who has confidence and can get through the team, just like we had a legend earlier in the name of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he had the same confidence. So, when you have a player like that. He, batting at number 3, could be playing that role. Not a bad thing,” says Sanjay Manjrekar.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali hailed Tilak Varman for his bravery in a cheeky comment. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Basit Ali said that Varma has started performing exceptionally well since he started keeping long hair.

“Tilak Varma (Tilak Varma) has started keeping long hair, so it’s great. I’m just kidding (chickles),” said the former Pakistan national cricket team cricketer.