Star left-handed batter Tilak Varma, who was ruled out of the first three T20Is against New Zealand, will not play in the remaining two matches as well but is fit for the T20 World Cup 2026. According to a report in Dainik Jagran on Sunday (January 25), the 23-year-old cricketer from Hyderabad, who is India’s designated No. 3 batter in T20Is, will join the Indian team on February 3 in Mumbai ahead of their T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up match on February 4 against South Africa in Navi Mumbai.
India’s first match of the T20 World Cup 2026 against the United States of America (USA) is also scheduled to take place in Mumbai on February 7.
In Tilak’s absence, Shreyas Iyer was added to India’s squad for the first three T20I matches, and there’s a high
chance that the right-handed batter from Mumbai will remain part of Team India for the remaining two matches as well of the ongoing series against New Zealand.
It will, however, be interesting to see if the Indian team management includes him in the playing XI for the remaining two matches.
Iyer, who captains Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL), is the second most expensive player in IPL history. He was signed for Rs 26.75 crore by the Punjab-based franchise in the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Tilak’s record for India
23-year-old Tilak has played 40 T20I matches for Team India so far and with the help of two century and six fifties, has scored a total of 1183 runs. He was India’s top-scorer in the Asia Cup 2025 final which was played against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 28, 2025.
In Tilak’s absence, Ishan Kishan played as a No. 3 batter for India in the first three T20Is against New Zealand. The 27-year-old left-handed wicketkeeper-batter from Jharkhand scored 76 runs from just 32 balls in the second T20I played against the Black Caps in Raipur on January 23.
In the third T20I that India won by 8 wickets on Sunday in Guwahati, Ishan scored 28 runs from 13 balls in the 154-run chase. He opened his account by hitting Matt Henry for a six on the third ball of India’s innings, and on the fourth ball, he smacked another six. On the fifth ball, Ishan slammed a four.
