.svg)
Key Takeaways
- 1📊 Tilak to miss first three India vs New Zealand T20Is
- 2🏆 Young left-hander is central to India’s T20 plans
- 3💡 Minor surgery opens doors for other middle-order hopefuls
- 4🔮 Fitness build-up geared towards T20 World Cup 2026
"His availability for the remaining two matches will be assessed based on his progress during the return-to-training and skill phases"
Tilak Varma has been ruled out of the first three T20Is for Team India against New Zealand, a worrying development on paper but one the camp insists is under control.
Surgery setback, but World Cup hopes stay intact
The 23-year-old left-hander recently underwent testicular surgery in Rajkot, forcing the selectors and medical staff to pull him from the opening half of the five-match home series starting January 21 in Nagpur. His return will be assessed as he moves through return-to-training and skill phases, with the target still firmly on getting him ready for the back end of the New Zealand series and, more crucially, the T20 World Cup 2026.
For Indian fans, Tilak Varma has quickly become a key piece of the T20 puzzle – a fearless middle-order option who was central to India’s Asia Cup success and has shown the temperament for big nights. His absence for three games reshapes India’s batting plans: opportunities open up for the likes of Rinku Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad or another young gun to audition under pressure.
Back home, Hyderabad coach DB Ravi Teja has already moved to calm nerves, stressing that the surgery was minor and Tilak should be back in a matter of days. The message from those close to him is clear: this is a temporary pause, not a long-term worry.
For now, the Men in Blue must start the New Zealand series without one of their brightest T20 talents, while fans keep one eye firmly on the medical bulletins and the countdown to February’s global showpiece.
Related Stories
