India’s designated No. 3, Tilak Varma, was ruled out from the first three T20I games against New Zealand starting from the 21st of January after he underwent abdominal surgery following discomfort during the Vijay Hazare Trophy game between Hyderabad and Bengal.
After having wound up the duties for India in the South Africa T20I series, where he smashed a couple of half-centuries to help India over the line, he returned to lead Hyderabad in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26. He played two games, the first against Chandigarh, where he scored a century, and then followed it with a 34 against Bengal.
Following the match on January 6th, Tilak experienced pain and was immediately advised to undergo scans. This seemed like a massive blow to the Indian contingent ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
Your daily dose of cricket!
Tilak Varma off to CoE with hopes for India return amid NZ series
The left-handed batter has been the backbone of India’s middle-overs batting in the recent past year. His injury shattered India, though it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the senior player Shreyas Iyer, who made his long-awaited comeback to the shortest format.
As per TOI, the young cricketer left for the BCCI Centre of Excellence on Tuesday and is currently not feeling any pain. He is heading to the CoE in order to seek clearance after a fitness test is conducted. He is accelerating his return with a return aimed ahead of the fourth game against New Zealand.
“If everything goes well, he will be fit before the fourth T20I on January 28 in Visakhapatnam. He has resumed physical training and, in a day or two, will start batting and other skill-based activities,” a source tracking developments told TOI.
Tilak Varma’s recent form in T20 cricket
The 23-year-old Indian superstar from Hyderabad has excelled in the format. The young prodigy was handpicked by the Mumbai Indians team ahead of the 2022 season and has been a constant scorer for the 5-time champions. He has amassed 1499 runs in 54 matches in the IPL.
Tilak, on the other hand, has been a star in the shortest format of the game. He replaced Virat Kohli in the Indian team after the veteran’s retirement and in 40 matches scored 1183 runs, averaging nearly 50. With two centuries, Tilak is the backbone of the batting order.
Tilak scored two half-centuries in the last series against South Africa and was the highest scorer for India in the series. His finest innings came against South Africa in the final match, where he scored 73 runs.
Will Washington Sundar return ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026?
Washington Sundar, the Indian off-spinner, suffered an injury during the recent series against New Zealand. As Sundar bowled just 5 overs in Vadodara, his back stretched, and he was ruled out for the remainder of the series. After being ruled out, Ayush Badoni replaced him in ODIs, as did Ravi Bishnoi in T20Is.
Sundar