He made 343 runs at 138 strike rate in the previous edition.
Mumbai Indians will be gunning for the sixth title in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the upcoming edition. The Mumbai Indians IPL 2026 squad looks pretty strong but they will need to nail players’ roles correctly. One of those players will be Tilak Varma, who has had to play two different roles for India in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026.
Tilak Varma started the T20 World Cup 2026 campaign as India’s designated number three. The team management wanted him to play the dynamic anchor role, who can hold the innings together while scoring at a fast rate.
Things, however, didn’t pan out well as his weakness against the spin was exposed. The left-hand batter was often found stuck against all types of spin, and in process, stalled the innings. He batted at number three in five games in the tournament, managing only 107 runs at an average of 21.6 while striking at 118. It became a huge problem for the team and India pulled the plug on his number three.
Since demoted down the order, Tilak has shown a different side as he hasn’t needed face spinners much. In three innings down the order, he has smashed 44 not out off 16, 27 off 15, and 21 off 7. There’s a clear difference as he generally enjoys facing pace.
Tilak’s issues against spin were evident in the previous IPL edition as well. He had a strike rate of 125 against spin in the last season. If we remove the left-arm orthodox spin, the number drops to 114. But he was pretty solid against pacers, striking at 151.
This puts Mumbai Indians in a tricky position as they now have to make a decision on his ideal spot in the playing XI.
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Following India’s template is not as straightforward for Mumbai Indians as moving him down the order will mean disrupting the roles of other players. Last year, the franchise had Hardik Pandya and Naman Dhir as the finishers with Will Jacks as a floater.
It’s expected to be a bit different in IPL 2026 after Jacks delivered an incredible T20 World Cup campaign. He made 226 runs for England as a finisher at a strike rate of 176. He was also valuable with the ball, picking up nine wickets.
If Mumbai Indians want to move Tilak down the order, they can use Naman Dhir up the order. Dhir has the ability to take on both pace and spin, and would be ideal number three. Followed by Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik, Tilak, and Jacks, it looks a formidable batting unit.
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