Star batter Tilak Varma will be eager for a substantial batting opportunity before a potential removal from the playing eleven. The reason? Shreyas Iyer. The middle-order dasher will return to the team in IND vs AUS 4th T20 and that could potentially dismiss Tilak Varma from the India Playing XI.
After resting for a week following the World Cup 2023 final, Shreyas Iyer is gearing up to rejoin the squad for the final two games where he will assume the vice-captaincy role from Ruturaj Gaikwad. This implies that Iyer a guaranteed starter in the playing XI. With Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad securing opening slots and Ishan Kishan at No 3 as teh wicketkeeper batter, the only possible option open is at No 5 which Tilak Varma is occupying at the moment.
IND vs AUS: Tilak Varma’s struggle for impact
With the 2024 T20 World Cup drawing near, Tilak stands as one of the hopefuls striving to earn a spot in the Indian middle-order. With a mere nine T20Is left before the ICC tournament, Tilak is in a race against the clock to cement his place in the Indian squad.
India’s top order has demonstrated stellar performance, with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and captain Suryakumar Yadav each scoring a half-century. Despite spending almost five and a half weeks on the World Cup bench, Ishan Kishan has shown no signs of rustiness, securing two half-centuries.
Down the order, Rinku Singh has further solidified his role as the designated finisher in this format with two impressive and quick-fire knocks. His consistent performances are gradually securing him a permanent No. 6 slot in the batting order, a position he is aiming to hold onto leading up to the T20 World Cup.
Tilak Varma finds himself in a challenging situation, occupying the No. 5 batting position and having faced only 12 deliveries in the last two matches. In the first game, he managed to score just 12 runs from 10 balls, including two boundaries, during a chase of 209.
In the next match in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, he faced the last two balls of the Indian innings, as Rinku was promoted ahead of him to provide the final push.
Editors pick
