THIRUVANANTHPURAM: India's rising star Tilak Varma maintained that he has a very specific role in the Indian side ahead of the second T20I against Australia here.
With the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup not too far away, Tilak is among the few candidates vying for a place in the Indian middle-order. The 21-year-old stressed that he was very clear about his mindset in the previous game despite holing out to leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha.
"My mindset was like, in that situation, the leg spinner was bowling, so I want to take charge because we want 10 per over in that situation," Tilak was quoted as saying by ICC.
"So at that time, my mindset was clear. If the leg spinner is bowling, I'll go after him. So for fast bowlers, settled batter and captain Surya bhai (Suryakumar Yadav) was batting. I was confident that he could finish against the fast bowlers. So especially that over I want to charge the leg spinner."
The left-hander further expressed that he wants to stick to his role in the team and does not take too much pressure.
"My mindset is simple. As I said before, I have got a role in the team. So I just want to stick to that role and I'll be clear with my mindset.
"I don't have any pressure like expectation doing well and all. So I just have my role. So I just fulfil my role for the team. So that is what I'm just looking forward to."
Speaking of Rinku Singh and his exploits in India colours, Tilak said that he wanted to emulate the consistency shown by Rinku under pressure.
"I like finishing the games but I am learning from Rinku. He is doing very consistently for India. I also want to do the same. So, I think in coming matches I will be looking to do that."