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An ex India coach has picked his favorite batter between Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma, saying only one of them can be ‘special’ outside of powerplay overs.
Tilak Verma (L) and Abhishek Sharma (R). (Sportzpics Photos)
Former India batting coach believes Tilak Varma is a more complete batter than Abhishek Sharma. Comparing the two on Tuesday, he said that Abhishek can ‘dominate’ in powerplay overs but Tilak has a better temperament and can be ‘special’ even in middle overs when boundary-hitting is not straightforward.
Both Tilak and Abhishek played an important role in India’s 4-1 series win over England in the recent five-T20I showdown. The former was the Player of the Match in the second T20I with his brilliant half-century in a tricky last-over chase while Abhishek scored India’s best T20I score, 135, in the most recent match in Mumbai.
“I would prefer Tilak Varma,” Bangar said on Star Sports Deep Point. “Abhishek Sharma dominates when field restrictions are in place, but Tilak can be special even in the middle order when the field is spread out. His temperament is also excellent.”
Abhishek, 24, has made the T20I opening spot his own after a consistent IPL season and now has two T20I centuries already in his short international career. Tilak, 22, has smashed as many as four centuries, two of them coming against South Africa. Although both are all-rounders and excellent fielders, they are not competing for the same position in the team yet as Tilak’s best performances have come at number three.
‘Rinku Singh should be in white-ball squads all the time’
Previously on the shot, Bangar and Sanjay Manjrekar had picked Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill among India’s stars too. Later, they looked beyond all in-form names and also mentioned Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)’s Rinku Singh, who emerged as one of India’s best T20I finisher since MS Dhoni in recent years.
However, Rinku, due to a combination of bad luck (with injuries, competition and so on) and his low batting position, hasn’t got enough chances to continue the momentum. He’s, thus, lost his place in the ODI team and isn’t around for the series against England and the Champions Trophy.
“I love Rinku Singh,” Manjrekar said. “He shined in the TATA IPL, got the chance to play for India, and has exceeded expectations. I don’t agree with him losing his national team spot based on last season’s IPL form. He has the tools. In white-ball cricket, he should be in the squad all the time. His temperament is great, and he’s an excellent fielder.”
