IPL 2022: From playing with broken bat to commanding Rs 1.7 crore, Tilak Varma's rags-to-riches story

Mumbai Indians' new recruit Tilak Varma's story is truly inspiring. Varma's father Namboori Nagaraju, who works as an electrician in Hyderabad, couldn't afford to continue his son's cricket coaching. So the southpaw's coach Salam Bayash took care of all his expenses, provided him proper training and even gave him all the equipment to continue chasing his dream. As a young cricketer, Varma had to face many hardships before reaching a stage when he had some of the wealthiest people of the country fighting to bag his services for their respective IPL franchise.

The 19-year-old's name popped up in the uncapped players' list in the IPL mega auctions, and MI had to beat the likes of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in fierce bidding to bag his services for Rs 1.7 crore. Varma had earned 8.5 times more than his base price, as his bidding started at Rs 20 lakh. Since then, he has been the subject of much discussions in the cricketing world. Asked about the first reaction of his parents when they got the news, Varma told IANS, "As soon as I got selected for Mumbai Indians, I made a video call to my parents. They were very happy, but unable to say anything; tears were rolling down their eyes. Papa was unable to talk at all. I said that I have been selected for Mumbai Indians. I too had no idea what to say! Then I said that I am disconnecting the phone. It was the most emotional moment of my life."

Asked about his own feelings when he received the news of being picked by MI, Varma, who usually plays in the middle-order and can chip in with occasional off-spin, said it was surreal. "I was on a video call with my coach when my name was announced for the auctions. I can't express my feelings when MI bid