Tilak Varma's delayed entry: A liberation from spin

Tilak Varma sat at two press conferences 15 days apart and echoed the same thoughts. In Delhi a fortnight ago, he was upbeat and spoke of being ready to bat anywhere the team wanted him to. He had batted at No.3 most often for India, and began the World Cup there.

After Thursday's outing in Chennai, where for the first time in this tournament he looked fluent, he offered the same words: "I always say that whatever the team needs, I'm up for it."

There was more context here. Rinku Singh's absence against Zimbabwe saw India include multiple opening options, pushing everyone down the order. Tilak still didn't walk in at No.4. Suryakumar Yadav came in the 11th over, and when the third wicket fell, Hardik Pandya followed.

Tilak's chance finally came at No.6 in the 16th over. He started with a cut over point first ball. In the 16 balls he faced, he hit four sixes—one more than he'd managed in his five previous innings combined.

Tilak Varma's entry points at the T20 World Cup

Even if Rinku Singh returns, India could consider sticking with this reworked batting formation.

Despite losing just once in their first five matches, India's collective batting output had dipped. Against Zimbabwe, they made adjustments. The left-handed top three was broken up to counter the early off-spin threat opponents had used effectively.

One outcome was that Tilak didn't have to face spin at all. Zimbabwe used only six overs of spin in Chennai, where spinners have struggled. Kolkata, where India play the West Indies next, has been far kinder to spin.

Bowlers like Roston Chase, Akeal Hosein, and Gudakesh Motie could still test Tilak's spin game. His strike rate against spin regressed from 139.14 after the 2024 T20 World Cup to 118.71 from January 2025 to the start of this tournament—the lowest in the squad. In this World Cup, before the Zimbabwe match, it had fallen to 93.75.

Thursday's knock showed Tilak has all the shots to slot into the backend role. In the IPL, he has batted more at No.5 (25 innings) than any other position.

"I've done the same role for the last four years in the IPL for Mumbai Indians, and also in a few games for India. I'm up for it. I can adjust to the situation," Tilak said.

"As I said before, I was just waiting for one innings. I am pretty confident now that going forward I can win games for the team."

If India lose early wickets with spinners operating, they could push Shivam Dube ahead. Tilak compensates for his spin struggles with the versatility to access all parts of the ground at the death. He now has that 'one innings' in Chennai—a first step toward liberating himself from a sluggish campaign. The question is whether India can keep him out of reach of opposition spinners.