"Will Call It Brave": Ex-Australia Star On Tilak Varma's Asia Cup Selection

Former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody on Monday hailed young Tilak Varma's call-up to Team India for the upcoming Asia Cup, calling it a "brave" and "smart" decision. On Monday, the BCCI's All India Senior Selection Committee, headed by chief selector Ajit Agarkar, announced the 17-member squad for the continental showdown set to be played in Pakistan and Sri Lanka beginning August 31. Varma was included in the squad as the sixth specialised batter alongside skipper Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav.

"I think it's a wonderful selection. I'll call it brave, but I also call it in the same breath smart," Moody told Star Sports.

"He is clearly a player on the rise, as I touched on earlier. He's got not only skill but an enormous temperament, and he is showing that on a regular basis."

"We have talked about the value of left-handedness in the top order, so him coming in at that number five or six position is going to be valuable for India, particularly to have that balance against spin."

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar also echoed Moody's views and credited Varma's blazing form during the West Indies T20Is earlier this month in the Caribbean and the United States of America for his call-up in the ODI team.

"Look at his domestic career. He's got the numbers to merit a call for India. And also, tongue in cheek, he is also getting ready for 50 overs cricket by failing in his last two matches in the T20 format. It is hard to find a weakness in him, in white ball cricket," he said.

Besides Varma, Moody was also impressed with the overall Indian squad selection for the tournament and felt there was no discrepancy behind the decisions.

"Well firstly, what is looking good is the