Yashasvi Jaiswal is currently the most talked-about youngster in the Indian cricketing circuit. The star left-handed opening batter recently entered the ICC Test Team of the Year 2024, for slamming 1478 runs in the longest format in 2024. He is also set to be part of Team India in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. However, Aakash Chopra has not named Jaiswal, but another young left-handed batter Tilak Varma who has shined with his recent performances as the next big superstar of Indian cricket.

In the second T20I of the five-match T20I series against England, Tilak Varma was the star of the show as he smashed an unbeaten 72 from 44 deliveries as he stayed put at one end, and helped India chase down 167. In a video on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said that Tilak is on the way to becoming the next superstar of Team India.

“Tilak Varma, the superstar. We sometimes call someone a superstar very early. We also call someone a great or a legend very early these days. I am not saying that he is already a superstar but he is on the way,” Chopra said.

Chopra also praised the fact that Tilak Varma stayed till the end and did not throw away his wicket. He maintained his calm and took the game to the deep while chasing at Chepauk.

“He went till the end and didn’t throw away his wicket. 18 runs were required, eight wickets had fallen, and he had already hit five sixes, so he could have tried to hit three more sixes. However, he said he would go deep. The match was at Chepauk, it’s Dhoni’s home, so the guy should go deep while chasing,” he added.

Tilak Varma Shines At India Take 2-0 Lead

India won the toss and elected to bowl first in the 2nd T20I vs England. The visitors could never really get going as they posted 165 at the end of 20 overs, with Jos Buttler top-scoring with 45. Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel were the pick of the bowlers with two wickets each.

The England pacers were on top as India kept losing wickets at regular intervals in the run chase. However, Tilak Varma kept his cool and played one of the best T20I innings by an Indian batter, as he scored an unbeaten 72 from 55 deliveries. Washington Sundar also chipped in with a crucial 26-run knock. India won the game by 2 wickets, taking a 2-0 lead in the series.