The Indian Premier League (IPL) continues to throw up talented cricketers unheard of by the common public. One such batsman who has emerged this season is Mumbai Indians’ Tilak Varma, who has, in just two games, shown his immense talent and maturity just at the age of 19.
The franchise known for unearthing and scouting highly talented cricketers over the past decade had been tracking Varma for the past two years. Impressed by Varma’s talent, potential, and hard work, MI bought him for 1.7 crore in the mega-auction and, on the back of a prolific domestic season, they handed him a place in their starting eleven.
Tilak Varma straightaway turned heads around with a fluent 22-run knock off 15 balls on debut versus Delhi Capitals in IPL 2022 – and everyone wanted to see more of the southpaw. Varma then played what will be a crucial innings in his career, thumping 61 runs off 33 balls against the powerful Rajasthan Royals bowling line-up. Though MI lost the game, they have once again given Indian cricket another bright future prospect.
We don’t own a house as yet; my only aim is to get a house for my parents: Tilak Varma
The IPL has been a pathway for numerous stories of cricketers ending their financial difficulties. Tilak Varma is now one of them.
The 19-year-old comes from a humble family in Hyderabad, his father, Namboori Nagaraju, an electrician who couldn’t even afford to continue his son’s cricket coaching at one point before his coach, Salam Bayash, stepped in with help for Varma’s cricketing career.
The batsman says that his premier goal is to get a house for his parents with the handsome IPL contract.
“Growing up, we’ve had a lot of financial difficulties. My father with his meagre salary had to look after my cricket expenses as well as my elder brother’s studies. In the last few years, with some sponsorship and match fees, I could just about take care of my cricketing expenses,” Varma was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
“We don’t own a house as yet. So with whatever I have earned in this IPL, my only aim is to get a house for my parents. This IPL money gives me the luxury to play freely for the rest of my career.”
He revealed Varma also revealed the reaction of his coach and family members when he was getting big bids in the mega-auction.
“The day the IPL auction was going on, I was on a video call with my coach. My coach started tearing up when the bids kept going higher. After I was picked, I called up my parents. They too started crying over the call. My mother was struggling to get words out,” he said.
