It was a video call from his dearest understudy, left-gave player Tilak Varma, who was in Bengaluru with the South Zone group for Duleep Prize.
"At the point when I associated with him on the call, he was brimming with joy and said, 'Sir, sir'. I asked him, 'Is all that good?' In an interview with IANS, Bayash recalled, "He said, "Sir, I have received the call for the Indian team for the T20 matches against West Indies.""
Although it has been almost a week since Varma received his first T20I call-up, the joy in Bayash's voice has not diminished. When I first heard it, I was overjoyed right away. I went to a shop to buy some sweets after hearing this happy news.
"It was an incredibly cheerful second for the two of us. The Almighty has rewarded him for the goal he set for himself, the plans he made to achieve it, and the efforts he put in,” he added.
Varma made his debut in the IPL 2022 by scoring 397 runs for Mumbai Indians at a strike rate of 131.02. He had a significant impact on the franchise once more in IPL 2023, scoring 347 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 164.11.
The gathering of Bayash with Varma occurred by chance in 2011/12, at a Barkaz ground close to Balapur, where he saw a little fellow playing tennis-ball cricket with his companions. Bayash immediately came up to the young Varma, amazed by how well he could hit the ball.
"I asked where he used to remain and rehearse his game. He responded, "I never leave." Here, I practice.' After obtaining the number of his father, I spoke with him. I was prepared to take charge, and he was ready to talk to me.
But it wasn't an easy road. Varma came from a lower-working class family, and father, Namboori Nagaraju, functioned as a circuit tester. However, Bayash reassured him that he would be in charge of Tilak's transportation from home to the academy and back.
Hence started Varma's excursion of heading out from Balapur to Chandrayangutta in the old city area of Hyderabad, covering 11 kms. After Bayash got him, the couple would ride on the bike from Chandrayangutta to the foundation in Lingampalli, one more excursion of 41 kms.
"At the foundation, he would be there from 6 am and invest his entire energy there till 6:30 pm. He sometimes fell asleep on the way back to his house after the practice was over. I used to fear about him tumbling from behind."
Following an extended period of this furious daily schedule, Bayash understood that it was negatively affecting Varma's general wellbeing, leaving him depleted. He asked Nagaraju to move Varma closer to the academy in Lingampalli. This decision was made for Varma's benefit.
I asked his father to move closer to the academy so Tilak wouldn't have to travel so much. It likewise helped that they had family members around there. Starting there onwards, Tilak turned out to be more normal in his training at the foundation."
After the movement issue was settled, Varma really buckled down under Bayash's watch with an expectation to make enormous runs. He quickly became popular, scoring 960 runs for Hyderabad in the U16 Vijay Merchant Trophy, paving the way for his senior debut in the 2019 domestic season.
He then turned into the top-scorer in the quadrangular series India U-19 played not long before the U-19 World Cup in South Africa. He scored 86 runs in three innings as India finished second to Bangladesh in the competition.
Varma put in strong performances for Hyderabad in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in November 2021. A 50-ball 75 in the quarter-last against Gujarat and a 32-ball 37 in a fruitful pursue of 171 against Delhi were his champion thumps.
Milap Mewada recognized Varma's batting potential when he became the Hyderabad coach prior to the start of the season and knew he was destined for greatness.
"The more meetings we did together, I could understand that this person is of global norm and will make it there very soon. I could without much of a stretch recognize Tilak among all as the following enormous thing to come up from Hyderabad."
Several IPL teams' scouts were also watching games at the time, and they noticed Varma because of his exceptional form. Mumbai Indians, one of the interested teams, would ultimately select him in the mega auction in 2022 for Rs 1.7 million.
“Many franchisees used to hear me say, "Keep an eye out for Tilak Varma." I can assure you that this man will never lose. I stated, "Tilak is going to be big and will be very good for any team" in conversations with individuals like Irfan Pathan and even VVS Laxman, who is also a resident of Hyderabad.
"There was interest in him by establishments, including Mumbai Indians. Be that as it may, he did very well in all preliminaries he went for." Mewada added.
With a 33-ball 61 against Rajasthan Royals, Varma demonstrated his ability to excel against both spin and pace in his second IPL game at number four. It incorporated a gutsy converse compass for six against pro off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Yet, Ashwin fortified Varma the extremely next ball.
After that, Mewada was quick to get in touch with Varma and teach him how to evaluate the risk of facing an excellent bowler like Ashwin.
“While playing domestic cricket, our goal was to teach Tilak and other batters discipline by requiring them to take a single on the next ball whenever they hit a boundary with a conventional or unconventional shot.
"I informed him that Ashwin is a savvy bowler and the second you hit him for a six, you awakened him. Therefore, he will bowl to you differently now, and you must manage. You won't be able to go after him on every ball because he will be smarter on the next one.
"He comprehended you can't overdo it, as getting out subsequent to playing a magnificent shot was not a decent sign. The most important thing is that Tilak quickly grasped how to evaluate risks and is a quick learner.
Varma's entrance into the IPL with Mumbai, the five-time champions, has ended up being beneficial to him as a player.
“They have a lot of star players in Mumbai, like (mentor) Sachin Tendulkar sir, who is the best person to give Tilak useful advice.
In terms of his batting, bat-swing, and shot selection, Tilak's game has undergone a significant transformation. He has great encounters in being at Mumbai. Mewada stated, "He was nurtured by Mahela Jayawardene and Zaheer Khan last year, and he got a lot of help this season from being under Mark Butcher and Kieron Pollard."
Mewada is of the opinion that being with Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma has also contributed to Varma's development.
"At the point when he was beginning in the IPL, he was a little safe in the beginning while at the same time picking his shots since he needed to get a beginning and have an effect. However, he added, "He can contribute to the team in a lot of different ways if you give him the license to play his game."
"In the event that the prerequisite is to bat with a 300+ strike-rate, he is the person who can do it at number three or four. He is honored to be with Mumbai and gain understanding as far as outlook as being with similar individuals has a ton of effect in developing as a young person."
From that point on, Varma was unstoppable: India A scored 121 against New Zealand A in a four-day match in Bengaluru, followed by a fifty against them in a 50-over match in Chennai. In the 2022/23 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he scored four fifties in a row, and in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he scored two centuries and one fifty.
However, in the first four-day match of the India 'A' tour of Bangladesh in December of last year, Tilak was injured and left on 33. Clinical trials uncovered a muscle strain, making him miss a few matches, including the entire Ranji Prize season.
Reviewing that horrible stage which caused Varma a ton of shortcoming, Bayash said, "I felt very terrible on seeing his condition. I used to call him on a regular basis, and he'd say, "Sir, my season..." I'd tell him, "You first think about being fit and then you think about the season once you are fine." You will get a season whenever. The present moment, matches are not significant and set yourself up to get fine genuinely.
He would be concerned about not participating in the game. However, I would tell him that even if you rest for two months, you can prepare for practice in twenty days. There is no requirement for you to be extremely anxious. You want to take rest and recuperate well. This stage comes in existence of each and every cricketer, and they emerge from it by resting satisfactorily to be completely fit."
Varma went to the Public Cricket Foundation (NCA) in Bengaluru for a broad recovery prior to getting back to Hyderabad. Bayash was speedy in setting a timetable for Varma's re-visitation of training - two hours practice and four hours rest, then one hour practice, trailed by more rest.
"He then, at that point, got a call to play in the quarterfinal of the DY Patil T20 competition (for Dependence 1). He said we have quite recently been rehearsing, and I let him know a certain something - 'You are currently completely fit and you center around playing the game with delight. Remember the nuts and bolts'."
In that game, Varma made 28 not out.
I quickly realized that the injury had not clouded his thinking and that he should not be reminded of it. In IPL 2023, he got fantastic help as far as wellness from Mumbai to recuperate in the middle between because of hamstring injury," added Bayash.
Mewada is of the opinion that India can benefit from Varma's improved decision-making abilities as they begin their preparations for the ODI World Cup this year and the T20 World Cup in 2024.
"He comprehends when to play a shot, against whom, in what circumstance and where to play it....He's great at it and regardless of the configuration, he has the ability to play till the end subsequent to playing 15-20 balls.
The majority of batters exit after a strong start, but six out of ten times, Tilak has turned his strong start into a big run. Tilak has also been more successful because he can change positions quickly against deliveries from pacers or spinners.
Varma is constantly reminded by Bayash that he is strong and capable of doing great things for the team, and Bayash now wants him to be India's best player.
"This kid has it in him to accomplish something great with the bat, and it's something I have seen since the time I saw him play...he's 100% person, regardless of where he bats, either at number three or considerably number 10."