Suryakumar Yadav posts special message for Tilak Varma on his maiden India call-up

Tilak Varma has earned maiden India T20I call-up for India's tour of West Indies.

Suryakumar Yadav congratulated his Mumbai Indians (MI) teammate Tilak Varma after earning his maiden India call-up on Wednesday, July 5. He, along with Yashasvi Jaiswal, were the new faces included in the Indian squad for the five-match T20I series against West Indies in the Caribbean.

On July 5, the BCCI selection committee headed by new chief Ajit Agarkar named a 15-member squad for the five-T20 series against West Indies. Hardik Pandya is set to lead the Indian team and be groomed for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the same venue in 2024. Suryakumar Yadav is the vice-captain of the side, with Shubman Gill also being named in the side.

The five-match T20I series will start at Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba on August 3. Guyana will stage the second and third T20Is on August 6 and 8, respectively. The T20I series will conclude in Lauderhill, Florida with a blockbuster weekend of back-to-back matches on August 12 and August 13 at Broward County Cricket Stadium.

Suryakumar Yadav congratulates Tilak Varma for his first Indian team call-up

The Indian squad saw senior players like Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and Virat Kohli rested while Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, and Mukesh Kumar were included.  

Varma's selection comes back on a phenomenal Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 edition for MI, where the batter slammed 343 runs in 11 matches, missing out on five matches due to an injury. He then returned to the MI squad for the playoff fixtures, scoring 26 and 43 in the Eliminator and Qualifier 2, respectively.

Reacting to Varma's inclusion in India's T20I team, Suryakumar wrote on Twitter: "Congratulations on your maiden T20I call up @TilakV9. So happy and excited for you."

India's squad for West Indies T20Is: Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya (C), Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.