Mumbai: Coming from a humble background to becoming a sensation overnight, Mumbai Indian’ youngster Tilak Varma’s story is truly inspiring. Varma has shown a glimpse of his talent and is already being seen as a key player for MI in a very short span of time.
Even the Rohit Sharma-led side eventually failed to register a win in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 so far, Varma’s valiant effort for Mumbai Indians against Rajasthan Royals (61 off 33 balls) was commended by cricket experts and fans from all over on Saturday.
Speaking in an interview, the left-handed batsman revealed he has seen his family deal with financial difficulties growing up and it was often difficult to make ends meet. However, now that the 19-year-old has earned an IPL contract, his only aim is to buy a house for his parents with his IPL money.
“Growing up, we’ve had a lot of financial difficulties. My father with his meager 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,” said Varma in an interview with 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 added.
Varma made his first-class debut for Hyderabad in the Indian domestic circuit on December 30, 2018. He was a consistent performer for his state throughout the years. He was then named in India’s U19 World Cup in 2020 where he helped the team reach the final of the tournament. Moreover, he has played 16 List A matches and 17 T20s. It was his heroics in the domestic circuit which earned him a big IPL contract.
“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,” Varma said.
Meanwhile, the Rohit Sharma-led side is currently at the 9th spot in the points table. MI kicked off their campaign with a defeat against Delhi Capitals and later to Rajasthan Royals in the next fixture. They will next face Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday (April 6).
