India’s veteran batter Rohit Sharma has rated Tilak Varma as a big-match player ahead of the T20 World Cup. Rohit said Varma’s match-winning knock against arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup final was unbelievable. The southpaw scored 69 runs off just 53 balls in the summit clash and was awarded Player of the Match.

Varma recently underwent surgery for Testicular Torsion in Rajkot. The left-hander has scored 1182 runs in 40 T20I matches at an average of 49.25 and a strike rate of 143.98.

“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,” Rohit said while speaking to Jatin Sapru on JioHotstar’s ‘Captain Rohit Sharma’s Roadmap for T20 World Cup’.

Rohit said Varma has always had the confidence to deliver the goods for the team.

“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,” Rohit said.

The Indian veteran batter said Tilak Varma has the right mindset and attitude for the international stage.

“He has that mindset and attitude, which is superb, and he is mad about cricket. 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,” Rohit added.

Varma would look to hit the ground running in the T20 World Cup.