"Sooner than expected": Tilak Varma gears up for Team India return ahead of T20 WC

New Delhi [India], January 22 (ANI): In encouraging and positive news for Indian cricket fans, batter Tilak Varma on Thursday posted some pictures and videos on his social media, showcasing his rehab process as he prepares to make a return to Team India ahead of the all-important T20 World Cup.
After a brilliant home series against South Africa at home last year, which saw him top the run-charts with 187, including two fifties, the 23-year-old played a couple of Vijay Hazare Trophy matches, scoring 109 and 34 while preparing for the New Zealand T20Is. However, an abdominal issue, which required surgery, ruled him out of the first three T20Is of the series. Shreyas Iyer made his return to the side as a replacement, with Tilak's World Cup participation under scanner.

However, the left-hander, who has been as of late been a super reliable number three batter with a variety of gears, is "leaving no stone unturned" to come back to the field again.
Posting to Instagram, he wrote, "Leaving no stone unturned, comeback"

Tilak's presence will be crucial for India at the top of the order in the T20 World Cup, having made 1,183 runs in 40 matches and 37 innings at an average of 49.29, with a strike rate of 144.09, including two centuries and six fifties. At number three, he brings a very Virat Kohli-esque game, capable of switching between stabilisation and acceleration, or vice versa, within a jiffy. In 15 innings at number three, he has made 542 runs at an average of 60.22 and a strike rate of over 160, including two centuries and three fifties in 15 innings and a best score of 120*.

While he scored two back-to-back centuries in South Africa back in 2024-end, his knock against Pakistan of 69* in the Asia Cup remains a crown jewel, helping his side in a tense run-chase of 147 runs, batting at number four, where he is just as adept, with 490 runs in 14 innings at an average of 54.44, a strike rate of over 128 and two fifties. (ANI)