"He was inspired by Suresh Raina and wanted to become like him" - Tilak Varma's childhood coach Salam Bayash

Tilak Varma has come out as one of the few positives for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the ongoing 15th edition of the Indian Premier League. The left-hander has dazzled viewers with his gutsy knocks and has successfully carved a niche for himself in the IPL team's star-studded batting-order.

The Mumbai-based side recently shared a video on social media in which Tilak Varma's childhood coach, Salam Bayash, spoke about the player's cricketing journey. He revealed that the youngster saw Suresh Raina bat in an IPL match in 2014 when he was a ballboy.

Bayash pointed out that his ward was in awe of Raina after watching him bat in that particular encounter. He further added that since then, Varma told him that he wanted to train hard to be able to play like the veteran batter.

Bayash said:

"In 2014, he got an opportunity to serve as a ballboy in an IPL match. During the match he kept watching Suresh Raina's batting. On returning home, he told me that he was inspired by Suresh Raina and wanted to practice hard, to become like him. Later that night, I spoke to Tilak's parents and they told me that he wasn't able to sleep that night and instead, kept practicing the basics."

In the video, Varma also spoke about the impact Raina has had on him since his younger days. He stated that he has watched the 2011 World Cup-winner's game very closely. He added that it was his dream to share the dressing room with the likes of Rohit Sharma and Sachin Tendulkar.

"Since childhood I have been watching Suresh Raina bhai and my dream was to play with Rohit Sharma. I wanted to interact with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar sir," said Varma.

Tilak Varma was signed by the five-time champions at the IPL 2022 auction for ₹1.70 crore. The stylish batter has repaid the faith shown by the MI think tank with his consistent performances in this year's cash-rich league.

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Tilak Varma in IPL 2022

The 19-year-old has managed to score 272 runs from his eight appearances so far in the latest edition of the IPL. It is worth mentioning that he is currently the leading run-getter for MI this season. Furthermore, he has an impressive batting average of 45.33 along with a strike rate of 140.20.