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Tilak Varma, the 20-year-old left-handed batsman who has impressed everyone with his performances in the ongoing T20I series against the West Indies, owes a lot to his childhood coach, Salam Bayash. Bayash, who runs the Legala Cricket Academy in Lingampally, Hyderabad, has been mentoring Tilak since he was seven years old and has seen him grow from a shy kid to a confident cricketer.
Bayash, who himself played for Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy, says that he always knew that Tilak had the potential to play for India. The coach also mentioned that Verma worked hard and was from a humble background.
“He belongs to a very humble background, and his family has taught him to give respect to the teacher. Talking about him, he too is a very humble kid. Main mehnat karaya, vo mehnat kiya, dene wala to upar wala hi hai (I made him work hard; he did work hard. Rest lies in the hand of the Almighty). I’m very happy for him. Every coach wants to see his student playing for the country and my wish got fulfilled,” the coach told News18.
Varma was the top scorer for Team India in the first two T20Is, as the 20-year-old smashed 39 off 22 on his debut before becoming the second youngest to score a half-century in T20Is for the Men in Blue in the second game. The left-handed batter smashed 51 off 41 deliveries, including one six and five boundaries.
Coach Bayash urged Tilak to learn from Sachin Tendulkar at Mumbai Indians
Sachin Tendulkar is the ideal player for almost all coaches around the world and the majority of Indians have grown up admiring the legend. Tilak’s coach was the same and he urged the Hyderabadi to learn from him as much as possible at Mumbai Indians. "The person whom I look up to, you are getting to spend time with him and that’s Sachin Tendulkar. It’s in itself a very big thing for me. Try to grab as much knowledge as you can from him,” Bayash said.
The coach also revealed that Verma fulfilled his lifelong dream of meeting Sachin, as he said, “Sachin sir likes him very much. I will tell you another instance. Tilak told him that my teacher is a very big fan of yours. So, Sachin Sir replied, ‘I know everything about you and your coach’. Last year, when Sachin sir came to Hyderabad, I got to meet him and that was a big, big moment for me.”
The stylish batsman has started his career with a bang and reminds the fans of another middle-order left-hander, Suresh Raina. Verma has shown enough to make the fans and the selectors believe that he could be the missing piece in the puzzle for India, but he still has a long way to go.
