Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers has said that with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and captain Shreyas Iyer confirmed starters in India’s playing XI against Afghanistan in the first T20I, Tilak Varma’s batting position raises a few doubts.
The team, now led by Iyer, lost all six of their T20Is against Ireland and England before completing a 3-0 whitewash of Zimbabwe. They will next face Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series beginning Sunday, September 13, followed by a historic T20I against Japan and the 2026 Asian Games.
But India’s batting remains a major concern, with Varma’s inconsistent form adding to the worries. Now, de Villiers has highlighted another major concern surrounding the batter.
“There will
definitely be some selection issues about the batters. Obviously, Shreyas, captain, Ishan Kishan, Samson, Sooryavanshi and then there are all-rounders, Tilak Varma; I think that is where the balance is quite tricky. Where will he bat?” de Villiers questioned while speaking in his YouTube video.
Since the 2026 T20 World Cup, Varma has scored 255 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 159.36. But he has crossed the 50-run mark just thrice, underlining his inconsistency with the bat.
“Really, really strong squad, but the balance will be tricky to figure out. It’s T20s, so they can play around with the squad a little bit. There are different roles, but the role clarification will still be incredibly important for India, as they are playing quite a dangerous team,” de Villiers said.
Meanwhile, the T20 series opener between India and Afghanistan will take place as scheduled, the DDCA said on Thursday, despite a request from the Delhi Traffic Police to reschedule the game because of the high-profile BRICS Summit.
Afghanistan will be ‘hosting’ India for the three-match series in New Delhi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, with the games slated to be played on September 13, 15 and 17.
