Rohit Sharma lauds Tilak Varma's Asia Cup performance; calls him big-match player

Rohit Sharma and Tilak Varma [Source: @LoyalSachinFan/x]

Rohit Sharma has heaped a significant praise on Mumbai Indians teammate and India’s middle-order resolute Tilak Varma. The former Indian captain recalled memories of Varma’s earlier IPL seasons with the Mumbai Indians, and claimed that he had sensed something different about the then-youngster.

Citing Tilak Varma’s 2025 Asia Cup final exploits against Pakistan in Dubai, Rohit Sharma also described the 23-year-old a “big-match player” for the Indian cricket team and in the IPL.

Rohit Sharma recalls Tilak Varma’s maiden IPL season

Tilak Varma made his IPL debut back in 2022 for the Mumbai Indians franchise under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. The left-handed batter impressed one-and-all in his maiden IPL season, scoring 397 runs in the process in just 14 innings at an average of 36.09 and a strike rate of 131.02.

While speaking on JioHotstar, Rohit Sharma claimed that he sensed Tilak Varma was different from others, and the then-youngster constantly urged the team management to send him up the batting order.

Praising Tilak Varma’s mindset and attitude, Rohit Sharma said “The first time Tilak Varma came into our Mumbai Indians setup, I could sense that there was something different about him. What attracted me was his constant conversation that came from a very innocent place, but it made a lot of sense.”

He added, “Whenever he spoke to me, he would just say, ‘I’ll do it. Please send me up the order, I’ll do the job.’ I’m talking about the 2022 and 2023 seasons, when I was captain. He has that mindset and attitude, which is superb, and he is mad about cricket.”

Rohit Sharma praises Tilak Varma’s Asia Cup 2025 heroics

Rohit Sharma also recollected Tilak Varma’s match-defining knock from the 2025 Asia Cup final against Pakistan last year. In a high-octane final, the cricketer clubbed 69* runs from 53 balls to overcome India’s three early wickets in a stiff chase of 147.

Describing Tilak Varma a “big-match player”, Rohit Sharma said “And most importantly, his temperament, that knock in the Asia Cup against Pakistan was unbelievable. So much pressure, wickets falling at the other end, so much noise in the stadium, a tournament final no less. I know it’s still early days, but he is showing that he is a big-match player. Whenever the team is in trouble, not just once, he has gotten them out of trouble a few times now.”

Tilak Varma set to join Team India for T20 World Cup 2026

Earlier this month, Tilak Varma sustained an abdominal issue which ruled him out of India’s squad for the ongoing home T20I series against New Zealand. The cricketer even underwent an emergency surgery on January 7.

However, recent reports indicate that Tilak Varma will regain full recovery and will join the Indian team next week, i.e., just in time for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The 23-year-old was earlier selected in Team India’s 15-player squad for the showpiece event.