Indian batter Hanuma Vihari has put his weight behind Tilak Varma ahead of the third T20I against England. Vihari expressed his surprise at suggestions that Tilak Varma should be dropped to make way for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Varma added the finishing touches in the second T20I against England at Old Trafford, Manchester on Saturday, scoring a cameo of 11-ball 24.

Meanwhile, Varma scored 55 runs off 46 balls in the second T20I against Ireland. Ahead of the UK tour, Varma was appointed as the team’s vice-captain but his strike rate has been questioned by some experts.

Vihari recalled that Varma won India the Asia Cup final against Pakistan on his own.

“I feel like laughing when many people tell to drop him. They say Suryavanshi can come down and Sanju can play if Tilak is dropped. He is the vice-captain of the team The management has trusted him. He does that finishing role. He scored a fifty against Ireland as well under pressure. He has always stood up in crisis situations. If you remember the Asia Cup final, he won India the game. So saying Tilak should be out does not make sense,” Hanuma Vihari said on his YouTube channel.

The Indian batter praised Varma for playing a crucial knock in the second T20I against England.

“He got those runs for us in the death overs which matters a lot. You need such players and Tilak has been it consistently. He played an important knock once again and took us to a good score,” Hanuma Vihari added.

Vihari feels Indian batters struggled to take singles and doubles consistently against England.

“The batters have struggled here and are not able to take singles or doubles more in trying to hit the big shots. It is not more about stroke play but about when to play shots, a little smarter shot selection becomes important,” he said.

The third T20I between England and India will be played at Nottingham on Tuesday.