India have marched into the Super 8s unbeaten, but not everything is ticking the way Suryakumar Yadav would like. Beneath the comfortable wins lay nagging concerns. Abhishek Sharma is yet to score a run, Rinku Singh hasn’t fared well against spinners, and the tempo is at No. 3. Tilak Varma has got starts. He has looked busy. However, this is not the template with which India likes to bat. India always try to punch ultra-aggressively. But Tilak’s strike rate in this tournament has just been 120.45. Meanwhile, as a team, the Indian batters have collectively scored at 154.
Against the Netherlands in Ahmedabad, on what was widely considered a better wicket at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Tilak’s 31 off 27 balls felt undercooked. Three fours, one six, a strike rate of 114.81. He stitched together a 39-run stand with Ishan Kishan and another 30 with Suryakumar, but when Logan van Beek tempted him into the big shot in the ninth over, India were 69/3 and still searching for lift-off.
Across four matches in the T20 World Cup 2026, Tilak has 106 runs at an average of 26.50. His strike rate of 120 stands out for the wrong reasons. He has faced 88 balls, hit 11 fours and three sixes, and has three successive scores of 25 before the 31 against the Dutch. For a top-order batter in this format, especially one batting at No. 3, those numbers can put pressure on other teammates. Before his injury, Tilak’s strike rate at no. 3 was set at 145. So, a drop of 20 is something striking.
Irfan Pathan flags tactical rethink Suryakumar Yadav
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan did not mince words while assessing the situation. He agreed that Tilak needed to bat sensibly against Pakistan, where the pitch was stopping a bit. However, Pathan was expecting Tilak to fire against the Dutch. But that didn’t happen.
“As far as Tilak’s batting is concerned, I had certain expectations. The way he was batting in Sri Lanka, you could see that he was playing with awareness and responsibility. Ishan Kishan was scoring quickly, so Tilak was batting at around a strike rate of 100 because he did not want to lose his wicket. However, in Ahmedabad, I expected more from Tilak Varma. His strike rate should have been better because the pitch was better. That is something he will need to focus on,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
Pathan’s bigger concern, however, is structural. Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma three left-handers in a row. Against Pakistan in Colombo, part-timer Salman Ali Agha exploited that. Against the Netherlands, Aryan Dutt controlled the powerplay. Pathan believes that pattern could hurt India in tighter games. South Africa can use Aiden Markram, West Indies have Roston Chase, while Zimbabwe obviously have Sikandar Raza.
“If this happens in a big match, especially in a knockout game, it could put India under pressure. Even against South Africa, Aiden Markram could come on to bowl, even though he is not a pure bowler, similar to Aryan Dutt. So from that perspective, would you want to break this left-hand combination? Could Surya bat at number three? Could that be a tactical move? “
“If not against South Africa in Ahmedabad, where the pitch does not grip much, then perhaps at a venue like Sri Lanka where the ball grips more. Would you consider promoting Suryakumar Yadav up the order and pushing Tilak to number four? Is that something you would want to try? In my opinion, it should be considered,” he added.
| Batting Po. | Inns | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | 19 | 648 | 120* | 49.84 | 152.47 | 2 | 3 | 57 | 35 |
| 4th | 14 | 490 | 69* | 54.44 | 128.60 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 21 |
