India’s designated No. 3, Tilak Varma, was ruled out from the first three T20I games against New Zealand starting from the 21st of January after he underwent abdominal surgery following discomfort during the Vijay Hazare Trophy game between Hyderabad and Bengal.
After having wound up the duties for India in the South Africa T20I series, where he smashed a couple of half-centuries to help India over the line, he returned to lead Hyderabad in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26. He played two games, the first against Chandigarh, where he scored a century, and then followed it with a 34 against Bengal.
Following the match on January 6th, Tilak experienced pain and was immediately advised to undergo scans. This seemed like a massive blow to the Indian contingent ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
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Tilak Varma off to CoE with hopes for India return amid NZ series
The left-handed batter has been the backbone of India’s middle-overs batting in the recent past year. His injury shattered India, though it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the senior player Shreyas Iyer, who made his long-awaited comeback to the shortest format.
As per TOI, the young cricketer left for the BCCI Centre of Excellence on Tuesday and is currently not feeling any pain. He is heading to the CoE in order to seek clearance after a fitness test is conducted. He is accelerating his return with a return aimed ahead of the fourth game against New Zealand.
“If everything goes well, he will be fit before the fourth T20I on January 28 in Visakhapatnam. He has resumed physical training and, in a day or two, will start batting and other skill-based activities,” a source tracking developments told TOI.
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