Tilak Bridge will be crossed

Tilak Varma during his unbeaten 49 in the third T20I against WI at Guyana recently. Pic/AFP

Australia's two-time (2003 and 2007) ODI World Cup-winning opener Matthew Hayden, 51, reckoned India have a fine mix of young talent and seasoned pros who will add great value to their World Cup campaign.

‘Good strategy to use Tilak'

The selection of 20-year-old batter Tilak Varma, picked by the national selection committee for India's Asia Cup matches in Sri Lanka on Monday, went down well with the Queensland cricket great-turned-commentator. "Look, in the lead up to the [October-November] World Cup you're always going to have some trial players and we've seen the class of Varma. I think it's good strategy in terms of not just this World Cup, but even potentially getting into the next World Cup," Hayden said during an interaction with select media on the sidelines of the Ceat cricket awards at a city hotel on Monday.

Matthew Hayden interacts with the media at a city hotel yesterday. Pic/Satej Shinde

"The great thing about Team India is it's got a really solid 1-2-3 combination. Similar to Australia. When you look at their [India's] last four or five months, they've had a really good strong, what we like to call, engine room. And then they've got some good problems to solve through the middle-order. If they can fill spots with talented young players like Varma, put pressure on someone like Suryakumar Yadav, I think that's good strategy.

"This extreme talent, especially within the batting sense, brings India to life. [Shubman] Gill hasn't played a lot of one-day cricket for his country yet. Varma hasn't played a game of one-day cricket for his country. But that doesn't mean they're not able to deliver."

Hayden had no doubt that the seniors will play their role to perfection. "Big players want big tournaments and both [Rohit and Kohli] will be set for a big World Cup and they'll both play according to that. I wouldn't be too worried about it," signed off Hayden, who has over 15,000 international runs and 40 centuries to his record.

KL, Iyer return

PTI adds: KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer were on Monday named in India's squad for the Asia Cup, beginning August 31. There were question marks over the fitness of Rahul and Iyer, who are making a comeback after undergoing thigh and back surgeries respectively. Iyer last played in March and Rahul in May. Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has been added to the squad as a back-up for Rahul who has developed a niggle recently. "It is not the original injury. There is a niggle. That is why Sanju is travelling [to Sri Lanka]. We are expecting Rahul to be fit. If not the start of Asia Cup may be by the second or the third game. Iyer is fully fit," said chief selector Ajit Agarkar after announcing the squad in New Delhi.

Pacer Prasidh Krishna, who made a comeback from injury with the ongoing series in Ireland, has also been included in the Asia Cup squad. Varma made the cut on the back of an impressive run in his maiden T20 series in the West Indies.

India's squad

Rohit (captain), S Gill, V Kohli, S Iyer, Suryakumar, T Varma, KL Rahul, I Kishan, Hardik (vice-captain), R Jadeja, S Thakur, Axar, Kuldeep, J Bumrah, M Shami, M Siraj, Prasidh K
Traveling stand-by player: S Samson