"He has seen from that style" - Mohammad Kaif compares Tilak Varma to legendary Indian batter after heroics in IND vs PAK Asia Cup 2025 final

Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif compared Tilak Varma to legendary Indian batter Virat Kohli after his stellar knock in the Asia Cup 2025 final against Pakistan. India handed Pakistan a five-wicket defeat in the title clash.

Chasing 147, they were in all sorts of trouble at 20/3. However, Tilak Varma walked in and played with responsibility. He struck an unbeaten 69 off 53 balls to finish the game. Kaif reckoned that Tilak's batting in the final was similar to that of Virat Kohli.

"Tilak has played a lot with Virat Kohli. He has seen from that style, Kohli was a classical player who would take time and had a solid temperament. I see glimpses of Kohli in Tilak. He takes responsibility and is there under pressure. Notably, he reached his half-century in about 40 balls, not smashing from the start, but building the innings carefully and accelerating at just the right time. His temperament under pressure drew comparisons to Virat Kohli, especially for the ability to guide a chase in a high-stakes match," he said on his YouTube channel. (5:44)

Tilak's spot in the team was questioned for his slow strike-rate. His being picked over Shreyas Iyer also did not sit well with many. However, Kaif reflected that the left-hander made a sensational comeback after he was recently retired out for slow batting during the IPL 2025 in one game.

"Kohli had hit two sixes to Haris Rauf in Melbourne and won the game, this was a similar knock. Tilak played in the same way here. There are many similarities. He took time and then went for the big shots. His fitness is brilliant as well. Tilak's name but not Shreyas Iyer's name. People questioned why he is playing as his strike-rate is low. In his short internatioal career he has already made two hundreds. Just few months back once was even ‘retired out’ in an IPL match for slow scoring, today’s innings is a sensational comeback as that is a very shameful moment for any player," he added.

Further, Kaif even lauded Tilak Varma for his game awareness. Tilak took the match deep in a tough situation. He expressed that this knock by the youngster was career-defining. Kaif claimed that Tilak would be seen performing well in the upcoming matches for India.

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Mohammad Kaif picks Tilak Varma as biggest takeaway for India from Asia Cup 2025

In the same video, Mohammad Kaif picked Tilak Varma over Abhishek Sharma as the biggest takeaway for the Indian team from the tournament. He agreed that Abhishek batted superbly and gave solid starts consistently.

"I will name Tilak Varma. Abhishek gives good starts in the powerplay. But Tilak soaked the pressure in the middle overs. He was there till the end and finished the game. This shows how solid a player is and how he can do for the team in the future. Abhishek does play well but I believe an average player cannot play like Tilak did," he said. (18:56)

"Big players flopped in the final. Tilak has belief on his game and technique. This was a big test for him to stay unbeaten and win the game from a difficult situation. He is the biggest takeaway as his spot was not set too," he added.

Tilak Varma scored 213 runs from six matches with an average of 71 and a strike-rate of 131.48. He made the most of the opportunities in this tournament and proved his worth with the willow.