"He has been stupendous" - Abhishek Nayar excited for Tilak Varma ahead of Asia Cup 2023

Former Indian all-rounder Abhishek Nayar believes Tilak Varma can go on to become a valuable player for India in T20Is as well as ODIs. The southpaw had a sensational debut against the West Indies and that helped him grab the headlines with his performances.

Tilak scored a staggering 173 runs in the five-match T20I series, prompting many to have him as a dark horse for India's Asia Cup squad. Nayar, too, liked the temperament and the range of shots that the southpaw showed, along with his ability to bowl off-spin.

Speaking to timesofindia.com, here's what Abhishek Nayar had to say about Tilak Varma:

"To a large extent, he has been stupendous, especially the way he performed against the West Indies. He is a left-hander who can bat at No. 4 and he has shown that he can bowl too.

"He can roll his arm over and can bowl a couple of overs in T20Is and ODIs too. He is a terrific young talent who has repeatedly shown a lot of potential in the IPL and in domestic cricket."

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Abhishek Nayar happy to see Tilak Varma in ODIs

India sprung a surprise by including Tilak Varma in their squad for the Asia Cup 2023 and while that raised quite a few eyebrows, Abhishek Nayar was happy to see the move. He feels Tilak has the 'exposure' of batting in different conditions and that will benefit him greatly.

On this, Nayar stated:

"I am really happy that he (Tilak) has been given the opportunity. He is getting a lot of games to play for India, that is a very good sign. He played in Ireland and West Indies, and playing in different conditions will give him a lot of exposure."

India's Asia Cup 2023 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson (travelling reserve).