“If you watch it through a mirror, it looks like MS Dhoni,” said Mohammad Kaif about Tilak Varma’s helicopter shot during the RCB vs. MI match.

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif lauded Mumbai Indians batter (MI) Tilak Varma’s batting during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Sunday, April 2, in Bengaluru. MI got a good score of 171 runs in 20 overs thanks to Varma’s unbeaten 84 runs off of just 46 balls. But his hit didn’t matter because Faf du Plessis and the rest of his team won by eight wickets with 22 balls to spare.

The former batter praised the young player for having a good game all around in the first match of the IPL 2023. The 42-year-old also said that Mahendra Singh Dhoni could be seen in the helicopter shot that Varma played. He also didn’t hesitate to call a mirrored copy of the legendary world champion.
“His best shot is on the leg side. He uses his bottom hand, but he also makes room, hits sixes straight down the ground, and plays the scoop shot, so it’s not like he can only score on the leg side. The helicopter shot—if you watch it through a mirror, you’ll think it’s MS Dhoni because you’ll see him as a right-hander there,” Kaif said during a post-match discussion on Star Sports.

Even though Mumbai kept losing games, his bat kept hitting: Kaif
Mohammad Kaif said that the 20-year-old batter stood out during the Mumbai Indians’ terrible season last year. He also said that the batter has kept up his great touch in the team’s first IPL 2023 game. In the 2022 tournament, Tilak Varma scored 397 runs in 14 matches, which is an impressive strike rate of 131.02. It was his first season in the lucrative league, which was a big deal.

“The most difficult time was last year, when Mumbai was struggling and losing games over and over again, but his bat kept on firing, so he showed that he has courage. He played for the first time for the Mumbai Indians and scored regularly, and he kept up that form here,” Kaif said.

MI did not have a good start to the IPL 2023, as they lost their first game to RCB by eight wickets. The five-time champions’ next game is on April 8 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai against their biggest rivals, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).