Tilak Varma Undergoes Surgery; Doubtful For New Zealand T20Is, T20 World Cup
The Mumbai Indians batter is an integral part of India's T20 squad and his absence will be a set back for the Men in Blue.
Indian batter Tilak Varma is a major doubt for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand and the 2026 T20 World Cup that follows after undergoing a testicular surgery on Wednesday, according to ESPNCricinfo. He is part of Hyderabad's team for the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy and played a match against Bengal on Tuesday.
Varma did not sustain the injury during the match, the report added. He was advised to go for scans and then underwent the surgery. The left-handed-batter is expected to report to the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru in the coming days.
An official statement from the BCCI on Tilak's injury is awaited though his recovery could be three-four weeks. This puts his participation for the New Zealand series in major doubt. India play the Kiwis in a five-match T20I series from Jan. 21.
He could even miss the T20 World Cup that starts on Feb. 7. Tilak played two matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In the first match against Chandigarh he hit 109. The century-knock was followed by an innings of 34 against Bengal.
The Mumbai Indians batter is an integral part of India's T20 squad and his absence will be a set back for the Men in Blue.
Tilak is ranked no. 3 in the ICC T20I rankings for batters. He has had a very good run in the format for India following in a string a good performances. In November 2024 Tilak hit two hundreds in South Africa and last year he played a crucial knock of 69 not out against Pakistan in the Asian Cup final.
The innings helped India complete a successful run chase of 147, when at one stage the scorecard read 20/3. Tilak was adjudged the Player of the Match in the final. More recently, in the five-match T20I series played against South Africa at home in December, he struck two half-centuries as well.
Tilak made his T20I debut for India in August 2023 and since played 40 matches, scoring 1,183 runs with a strike rate of 144.09 and an average of 49.29. He has also played five ODIs for the country, scoring 68 runs with a highest score of 52.
