For a long period of time, Tilak Varma was considered one of India’s best top-order batters who could falter if he is pushed down the order. Well, it was true until a certain point of time – after all he has 649 runs while batting at number 3 and 490 runs while batting at four in T20Is. But the T20 World Cup 2026 completely changed that perception.
After repeated failures despite getting good starts at number 3 in the marquee event, Tilak was eventually demoted during the latter half of the tournament. But, for Varma, it was more of a boon than a bane as he got to unleash a side of him that India relished and helped the team find more stability.
Tilak Varma aces role as finisher
Tilak batted at number 3 in 5 of India’s 9 T20 World Cup 2026 matches. He managed to register scores of 25, 25, 25, 31 and 1 – which showed that despite getting off to good starts, he was under severe pressure and hence wasn’t able to convert them to good knocks. Varma was then asked to bat at 5 or below for the remainder of the games and the results were splendid!
During the course of the next four games, he registered scores of 44* off 16 while batting at 6 vs ZIM, 27 off 15 vs WI at 5, 21 off 7 vs ENG at 7 and 8* off 6 at 6 vs NZ in the T20 World Cup 2026 final. What this proved was that not only did Varma provide more stability to the Indian middle-order but also was able to bat more freely, something that he himself has acknowledged.
“I always say that whatever team needs, I am up for it. So I have done the same role (switching up between stabiliser and a hitter in the middle-order) for the last four years in IPL for the Mumbai Indians, and also I have done in a few games for the Indian team. So I am up for it. Whatever the team needs, I am up. And according to the situation, I can adjust. But as I said before, I was just waiting for one innings. So I am really grateful to God for that. I am pretty confident now that, going forward, I can win the games for the team,” Tilak Varma had said after the game against Zimbabwe.
In 2025, which happened to be Tilak’s best year in T20Is in terms of runs amassed, he featured in 20 matches where he amassed 567 runs. In those games, he played at number 3 and 4 on 13 occasions, once at 5, 6 and 7. His best performances came while batting up the order. However, India might have found a gem in the form of Tilak Varma – the finisher – after the T20 World Cup. Therefore, Varma has proved that he isn’t just any other top-order batter and is very well willing to execute the role of a finisher with ease as well.
“I will play in all positions and show now,” Tilak had told his coach Salam Bayash after his knock against ZIM. And how he did just that!
