Harare, July 21 (IANS) The recent string of defeats in white-ball cricket has exposed a number of chinks in the Indian men's cricket team's armour, with the slow scoring rate of some of the players being a major cause for concern.
Middle-order batter Tilak Varma is one of those facing mounting criticism of his strike rate in the recent tours. However, ahead of the opening T20I of the three-match series against Zimbabwe on Wednesday, Varma rubbished the criticism and said he plays according to the situation. Instead of going hammer and tongs at the bowling from the first delivery, Varma says he adjusts his approach according to the team's needs.
The 23-year-old left-handed batter faced questions after his recent form across Ireland and England, where he managed to score runs but at a measured tempo compared to expectations of a specialist middle-order batter.
"In this format, you have to bat in different places, and especially in different conditions, it's not easy. At the same time, I always say that I do whatever is required for the team.
If I have to stop and play for the team, then I stop and play. If I have to hit, then I hit and play. So I go as per the conditions of the team. If you look at it, from Ireland to England, you always had four wickets in your power play, and five wickets were falling in six overs. "If I have to play for the team till the end, then our team planning keeps changing," said Varma in the pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
Reflecting on the lessons from India's last two T20I series defeats against Ireland and England, Tilak said the squad's focus is firmly on executing its plans and rediscovering winning momentum.
"Honestly, it has been a big learning since the last series. And we are just looking forward, and we just want to follow our basics and do well in the coming series. Obviously, if you see everyone has played enough domestic cricket and A-series just before this, so they are ready to play the series and it's just it's just a different, it's the same thing, but just a bigger stage.
--IANS
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