The entire country marvelled at Tilak Varma’s temperament on Sunday, when the Hyderabadi batter held his own, scoring an unbeaten match-winning 69 to take India from crisis to victory in the Asia Cup final against arch-rivals Pakistan.
Around 1500 miles away, however, back home in Hyderabad, one man expected just this from the left-hander. Salam Bayash, the cricket coach, who spotted a 11-year-old Varma back in the day at the Legala Cricket Academy in Lingampally on the outskirts of Hyderabad, tells mid-day how Varma’s staunch temperament stood out even back then. “Tilak had called me before the match and I told him to just stay [at the wicket] till the end. I’m glad he did and has emerged as a superhero. His temperament comes as no surprise to me because even as a youngster, during practice sessions, he would bat for long hours,” Bayash, 38, told mid-day.
An ecstatic Tilak Varma celebrates India’s win over Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday
Interestingly, the man who discovered Indian cricket’s current national hero, has also had his fair share of struggles. Hailing from a middle-class family, Bayash played in local leagues as a wicketkeeper-batter. “I played some decent cricket for Boston School and then City College Old Boys, but after a few years, when I realised I would not progress, I took to coaching in 2006,” said Bayash. Even that wasn’t easy though. He ran from pillar to post to raise funds before his good friend, Prithvi Reddy helped him start off with a batch of 40 boys. Today, his academy boasts of 350 boys and one of them is Varma.
Recalling Varma’s initial days under him, Bayash said: “I started him off with the basics and after the third month, I made him play a local match. He immediately impressed me with his temperament and technique. He worked hard for hours. He happily skipped many of his family functions for net sessions. He was disciplined and never missed a net session. Together, we, Guru-shishya [coach-student] would ride across the city for matches. Even today, he greets all the boys and the staff sweetly. Success has not gone to his head,” added Bayash.
Salam Bayash, Tilak Varma’s cricket coach
Soon Tilak was selected to play for the Hyderabad U-14 team. “He didn’t fare well in the first year, but worked hard and next year, led the same team and emerged top scorer in the South Zone tournament,” said Bayash.
The next phase was the U-16s. “Tilak top-scored with 900-plus runs and won the BCCI Naman award. At 17, he became the highest run-getter in the Vinoo Mankad U-19 tournament and has never looked back.”
A young Tilak Varma with coach Salam Bayash in Hyderabad
Moments after Sunday’s win, Varma called Bayash from Dubai. “He made a video call from the ground on Sunday night and spoke to everyone at my home. His parents [dad Nagaraju and mum Gayatri] are away on a pilgrimage to Nepal. From the days when Tilak was referred to as Bayash’s boy, I’m very happy that now people know me as Tilak’s coach,’’ Bayash signed off.