Indian cricketers Ravi Bishnoi, Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar, and Jitesh Sharma participated in the ‘Bhasma Aarti’ at Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar Temple following their victory in the second T20I against Afghanistan.
The temple, situated on the banks of the sacred river Shipra, holds significance in Hinduism, and the ‘Bhasma Aarti’ ritual symbolizes life’s transient nature and the cycle of creation and destruction.
The players attended the ceremony the morning after India’s six-wicket win in Indore on Monday. Lord Shiva is revered as Mahakal at this temple. The video capturing the quartet participating in the temple’s Bhasma Aarti went viral on social media recently. You can watch the video here:
#WATCH | Madhya Pradesh | Indian cricketers Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar, Jitesh Sharma & Ravi Bishnoi attend 'Bhasma Aarti' performed at Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain. pic.twitter.com/PGYyiS809h
— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) January 14, 2024
In the second game against Afghanistan, three of the four cricketers, excluding Tilak Varma, participated. Bishnoi claimed two crucial wickets, Sundar remained wicketless in three overs, and Jitesh Sharma was out for a two-ball duck. In the first T20I, spinners Bishnoi and Sundar went wicketless, while Tilak and Jitesh contributed valuable cameos of 26 (22) and 31 (20) each.
India convincingly won both matches by six wickets, securing an unassailable 2-0 lead. The final T20I is scheduled for Wednesday, January 17, in Bangalore.
“He will be slightly disappointed that he has not yet sealed his place” – Saba Karim on Tilak Varma
Saba Karim, the former Indian wicketkeeper, expresses that Tilak Varma might be disappointed about not securing a consistent spot in the Indian white-ball team. Despite having a brief four-match ODI career, the 21-year-old has featured in 16 T20I matches since his debut in August last year. However, after impressive initial scores of 39, 51, and 49* in T20Is, he has surpassed 50 only once in his last 12 innings.
Discussing Tilak’s absence in the second T20I, Karim emphasizes that intense competition within the Indian team sometimes sidelines players more than their performance.
“I know Tilak Varma has done very well, having said that he will be slightly disappointed that he has not yet sealed his place (in the squad). None of the players who are sitting out are out because of bad performance… It’s just that India has so many quality players and if a player like Virat Kohli is making a comeback, he is going to be in the starting eleven for sure,” said Karim.
In general, Tilak possesses a commendable T20I record, maintaining an average of 33.60 and a strike rate of 139.41 across 16 games. However, given the comeback of Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the T20I lineup and Shivam Dube’s impressive displays against Afghanistan, Tilak may face challenges securing an immediate spot in the playing XI.
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