Tilak Varma

The son of an electrician from Hyderabad, Tilak Varma didn’t have the best resources at his disposal but what he had was an innate talent for batting. Varma was spotted by a childhood coach playing tennis ball cricket, and the coach took him under his wings. In his early teens, the southpaw used to travel 40kms to and fro for practice at the Legala Cricket Academy, all sponsored by his childhood coach Salim Bayash.

The efforts paid dividends as Mumbai Indians came calling, picking him at the 2022 auctions. The 2022 IPL season was one to forget was MI, as they finished rock bottom but Varma’s performance was a bright spark for the franchise. He was the second highest run getter for MI, and looked like he belonged against some of the best in the world. Varma followed that up with another solid IPL season, and got his maiden T20I call-up for the series against West Indies shortly after.

Varma has been a steady eddy for India in the middle order. His ability to switch gears alongside his useful off breaks makes him a premium product in this Indian setup. Still in his early 20s, the ceiling for a player like Tilak Varma could be too high.