Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has said that Tilak Varma has taken up a role similar to Virat Kohli, which involves absorbing pressure and putting up his best performance in such situations, lauding
Varma’s innings against arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup last year.
India are all set to defend their T20 World Cup title next month. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the team, but Shubman Gill is a notable omission from the T20 World Cup team. Pathan believes India already has their Kohli replacement in Varma.
On his YouTube channel, Irfan emphasised Varma’s crucial role in India’s strategy and reminded fans of his match-winning knock in the 2025 Asia Cup final.
“Tilak Varma has batted at No. 3 and No. 4. He has absorbed pressure and hit hundreds. Tilak also played an outstanding knock against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 final and India would not have won if not for that innings,” Irfan said.
“In that regard, Tilak has raised his stock. It is the kind of role Virat Kohli used to play. Kohli is a massive player and whenever there was pressure, he used to absorb it well,” Irfan said.
“He (Kohli) did not score in the entire T20 World Cup, but people trusted him to come good in the final. Kohli played a knock that was not as fiery, but given the situation, it was critical,” Irfan added.
Varma is third in the T20I rankings, having scored 567 runs in 20 games at an average of 47.25, including four half-centuries. He is injured and will miss the first three T20Is of the five-match series against New Zealand.
“The same way Tilak Varma played in the final. India had lost three wickets in the power play and he backed his game plan by taking calculated risks. Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube played some high-risk shots as India won the final,” Irfan said.
