In his short T20I career, Tilak Varma has shown India several sides to his batting. At No. 3, he has been prolific and aggressive, scoring his 651 runs at a strike-rate of nearly 151, including both his hundreds. Lower down, he has done two jobs. As an anchor, he has soaked up early wickets and taken the game deep, most famously in the Asia Cup final against Pakistan. As a finisher, he has gone from the first ball, as he did on India’s run to the T20 World Cup title, including the semi-final against England in Mumbai.
Those hundreds came in successive innings: 107* at Centurion and 120* at Johannesburg in November 2024, and they made the No. 3 position his. He started the 2026 T20 World Cup in that position and batted largely there through India’s campaign but on the back of loss to South Africa, when the team management reshuffled the batting for the must-win game against Zimbabwe, Tilak found himself slotted at No. 6. He made 44* off 16 and, since then, has batted at No. 3 only once.
Tilak admits he still “loves to bat” at No. 3. “I have said that many times,” he quickly added at the press conference in Hyderabad, his home ground and the venue for the fourth T20I against West Indies. Now in a leadership role as India’s vice-captain, he is happy to take on the tougher job. He doesn’t “want to disturb” any role, especially with so much competition for the top four spots that even Vaibhav Sooryavanshi can’t find a place.
“At No. 3, you have the freedom,” Tilak explained. “There are only two fielders outside and you will get to bat in the Powerplay. And you don’t have any expectations, so you can swing freely. Every batsman enjoys playing that role, especially in T20.
“After that, when the anchor role starts at No. 4 and No. 5, sometimes the wickets fall early. Sometimes you know you will have to hit from the first ball, with only two or three overs left. For that role, you have been practising the basics since childhood. But more than that, I think you have to be mentally very strong.”
Tilak has made peace with his new role lower down the order. In fact, he sees an opportunity in it and takes real satisfaction from what he’s tasked with.
“I am the man who always wants that pressure,” he said. “When the team needs it, I want to step up for that role. Right now, I think my role is to handle the middle phase, like overs 5, 6, 7. If quick wickets go [fall], I can take my time slightly and take the game deep. I can do that role.
“And I have one more role: if the openers or the top three bat till the 14th or 15th over, I know how to change gears and get going from the first ball. I have been practising for that, especially the mindset. It’s really important to play both games. When the team is under pressure, you should take it deep. And when the team needs it from the first ball, you should go. For that, I am really ready.
“By God’s grace, it’s going well. I have worked really hard. Right now, I’m enjoying this moment. When someone like Ishan, Shreyas and the openers are batting, it’s really a treat to watch. So I don’t want to disturb any role. Whatever the team needs, I want to do it.”
And what does the job demand? “You have to have confidence in yourself. If you don’t have confidence in yourself, the team will never have confidence in you. Since childhood, my coach has taught me that whatever the role, whatever situation you are in, if you win the game for the team, it’s a different kind of fun.
“So whatever position I go in at, I just see how I can win it for the team from there. After that, I look at the conditions, which bowler I can hit, and which shots I can play on that wicket. I adapt all that and use it on the ground.”
The fourth T20I will be Tilak’s first game at his home ground and he admits that the vice-captaincy tag carries extra weight. “It is a really proud moment that I am leading the Indian side as vice-captain and playing in front of the Hyderabad crowd,” he said. “It will be a really special moment for me.”
He was also asked about the strange run out in Indore, where he stopped midway through a run, sure that the ball had gone for four, and was caught short of his crease.
“A lot has been said about the run out,” Tilak said with a smile. “I saw a flash [from the digital boundary hoardings] and personally felt that the fielder touched the hoarding with his hand while flicking the ball in. Axar [Patel] also felt the same, so we both stopped at the same time. It wasn’t that he or I stopped first. The ball was thrown to Axar’s end, so he could see it, but at the non-striker’s end, I was facing the other way. Our teammates were shouting from outside, ‘go, go, go.’ If Axar had known any better, he would have shouted and I would have run.
“In life going forward, I will never stop, even if the umpire signals a boundary. I will just keep running [laughs].”
