"He is definitely a massive talent" - Mahela Jayawardene hails young Tilak Varma ahead of IPL 2022

Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mahela Jayawardene has been impressed with whatever he has seen of young Tilak Varma so far. MI bought the 19-year-old in the IPL 2022 auction for INR 1.7 crore and looked happy to have signed the youngster.

MI have always taken pride in their scouting system and have frequently unearthed gems like Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, who have gone on to do well for India. This time, all eyes are on how Tilak Varma performs as he has been earmarked as the future of MI's batting.

Speaking in a pre-season press conference ahead of IPL 2022, Mahela Jayawardene opened up on how glad they were to have picked up the teen at the auction. Replying to Sportskeeda's query, here's what the MI coach had to say:

"I believe your scouting is a bit better than ours to find out that Tilak is going to bat at No. 3. (chuckles). He is definitely a massive talent and we are fortunate that we have been able to pick him at the auction. Indian U19 player, we see a lot of potential in Tilak."

Mahela Jayawardene also spoke about how important it is for a youngster not to get carried away and focus on the process instead. On this, he said:

"Like any other youngster it is a process for him to go through. Understand how we play here, it is about contributing, learning and challenging themselves through the season."

MI has always had the ability to find that talent: Mahela Jayawardene

Mahela Jayawardene stated that a huge factor in MI's success has been their scouting system and their ability to nurture young players into match-winners. Regarding this, he said:

"We are very much looking forward to not just Tilak but all the other young guys that we have and try and nurture them through the system. Yes, we definitely pride on our scouting and our program. Everyone who is involved are very dedicated to that program. We have seen a lot of success over the past 10 years and MI has had that ability to find the talent."

It will be interesting to see whether youngsters like Tilak Varma are able to step up against better-quality bowling and produce some match-winning performances for MI.

Check out the list of IPL winners here.