Indian batter Tilak Varma expressed gratitude to the BCCI and the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for playing a key role in his quicker-than-expected comeback. Upon his return, Varma featured for India in a T20 warm-up match against South Africa on Wednesday in Navi Mumbai, marking a resounding comeback with a quickfire 45 off 19. Speaking on his comeback, Tilak, while thanking the BCCI and COE, also spoke about the impassioned crowd at DY Patil Stadium that filled him with confidence.
“To be honest, I did not expect but I will be back on the field this early. Really thankful for COE and BCCI. I always say that World Cup is my biggest dream to play. The way, I entered the ropes and, everyone was shouting 'Tilak Tilak.' So I didn't expect that. I really felt nice and it also boost me when I was going in," Tilak said in a bcci.tv video.
Tilak said the atmosphere in the camp was electric, and he was inspired by the aggressive batting around him. He further showed confidence by saying that both he and the Indian team feel fully prepared for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
"The way Ishan was batting, I have seen him, the way Abhishek and everyone was batting, so I was also a bit like 'Mai bhi maarunga jaake.' I did not expect full crowd, the DY Patil was fully packed. It was just a warm-up game, but still the craze... Really, thanks to everyone. The vibe was really terrific, and yeah- Tilak and the Indian team is ready for the World Cup,” he said.
India, on the other hand, capped off their T20 World Cup preparations in a dominant fashion, defeating South Africa by 30 runs in a high-scoring contest. They will begin their T20 World Cup campaign by facing USA on Saturday in Mumbai.