Tilak Varma at the centre of India's middle-over spin problem in T20 World Cup 2026

“They were below par, not at their best.” That’s how Ravichandran Ashwin described the India cricket team’s performance against the Netherlands. This one line could be applied to India’s entire T20 World Cup 2026 campaign.

At the end, the Men in Blue won each game with ease but not without concerns. The biggest of them all is spin. Not bowling, but batting. For the last 18 months, India has been playing on true surfaces. Posting totals over 200, especially at home, became the new norm. With the T20 World Cup, the situation has flipped.

Spin batting in focus

The International Cricket Council (ICC) prepares balanced surfaces for its events. All of a sudden, the pitches are turning a bit, and the ball’s stopping. You can’t just clear the front leg and whack. And that’s caused trouble for India. Teams have started employing finger spinners against the reigning champions, in the powerplay and after it.

Harmeet Singh, Gerhard Erasmus, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Tariq, and Aryan Dutt have troubled India. Former Indian analyst Himanish Ganjoo provided an insight into India’s spin woes. Whenever challenges are of a good length or short of a good length, the Indian batters are facing issues.

India have:

– the 3rd worst SR vs 4-5m spin in this T20 WC (114) / the mean is 137

– the 7th worst SR vs 5-6m spin (96) / the mean is 105

– An average of 14.8 vs 5-6m spin / mean is 21

– Ave / SR of 13.8 / 111 vs 6-7m spin / mean is 25.78 / 121
— Himanish Ganjoo (@himganj153) February 19, 2026

After a rollicking start in the powerplay, India is getting stuck. Strike rotation and boundary hitting: Suryakumar Yadav‘s team is lagging behind in both departments. The world beaters are way behind on both metrics, despite having some seriously talented batters.

7-10 over phase vs spin in T20 World Cup 2026

Team	Runs	Balls	Average	Strike Rate	Balls Per Boundary	Dot ball %
India	64	60	32	106.67	8.5	41.66
Others	1438	1168	38.86	123.12	7.84	31.59

Data Credit: New Indian Express

A big part of this middle-over spin problem is Tilak Varma. About 4 months ago, the southpaw was one of India’s best performers. In slow and spinning conditions during the Asia Cup 2025, Tilak stood tall. But in the T20 World Cup, the tables have turned.

With Abhishek Sharma registering ducks, Tilak’s entry point has changed. He has to enter the middle early. That isn’t causing any trouble in the powerplay, but he slows down once the field opens. The reason is the spin takeover post the powerplay.

Tilak Varma stats by phase in T20 World Cup 2026

Overs	Innings	Runs	Balls	Out	Average	Strike Rate	Dot Balls	4s	6s
1-6	4	74	51	1	74	145.09	21	10	2
7-15	3	32	37	3	10.66	86.48	15	1	1

It’s well known among cricket aficionados that Tilak has an issue with spin. Defensive spinners try to cramp him, and he can’t escape. That happens against both types of finger spinners, right and left. More than 50% of deliveries Tilak has faced against spin in the T20 World Cup have been dot balls.

He isn’t even scoring a run a ball. This issue bleeds over. Left-arm spin, which causes issues for Suryakumar, should be a positive match-up for Tilak. But it’s anything but. Given India has packed the batting lineup with lefties, with Tilak being one of them, the opposition often brings on right-arm finger spinners.

The Netherlands, Namibia, and Pakistan all used this tactic. In these 3 matches, off-spinners combined to bowl 22 overs of spin, taking 11 wickets. It’s something that the Indian management realises. “Teams are bowling a lot of finger spin to us with having so many left-handers in our line-up. That is a challenge,” India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said after the Netherlands match.

Tilak’s the starting point. If he gets stuck, a chain reaction of sorts commences. The batter at the other end has to force things to keep the run scoring up. You have guys like Shivam Dube and Axar Patel, who are spin bashers, but their entry points can’t always be optimised. In that sense, Tilak works as a vital cog in India’s T20 machinery. Without him, the clock won’t run properly.