India batter Tilak Varma has faced criticism for his sluggish knocks in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. The No.3 left-hander has managed scores of 25 off 16, 25 off 21, 25 off 24, and 31 off 27 in the four group-stage games so far.
His strike-rate has been an issue for some time now. During the Asia Cup 2025 last year, although he played a match-winning knock of 69 in the final against Pakistan and accumulated 213 runs from seven matches, Tilak’s overall tournament strike-rate barely crossed 130.
Not only that, Tilak Varma has also been under the radar for his stance, which hinders his hitting abilities. With the left-hander having a side-on stance, Tilak finds it more challenging to take on deliveries coming at middle and leg, as opposed to an open stance which makes it easier to attack.
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Coupled with his inability to change gears, Tilak’s batting has now raised questions with the Men in Blue preparing for the high-octane IND vs SA Super 8 match tomorrow (February 22).
India skipper Suryakumar Yadav was quizzed on the same lines, but he has now thrown his weight behind Tilak. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, SKY said,
“I mean, I have told him, the team management has told him that he has to bat that way. If one wicket is down, then he can definitely go and have his own game in the powerplay.”
Suryakumar Yadav, however, added, “But as soon as two wickets are down, then he has to take a little bit of a backseat, build a partnership again, get to the 10th over and then we have enough firepower to continue and take on the bowling. But yeah, definitely I am sure he must not be happy with how he is batting right now. And he has practised a lot as well in the last two or three practice sessions. But I don’t have any concerns regarding him. He has been delivering for India at No. 3 really well and I am very confident that he will do it better.”
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