Collective disappointment masks Tilak Varma’s individual growth

In IPL 2025, Mahela Jayawardhane had to retire Tilak out owing to his laborious 25 as Mumbai Indians pursued 204. The next season arrived, and so did his flair. A century versus Gujarat Titans and an equally dazzling 75 opposite Punjab Kings safeguarded his national spot to an extent, considering spin basher Rajat Patidar was hot on his heels. Prior to India’s landing in Belfast, the selection panel was convinced that Tilak can make up for his shortcoming with versatility to access, at will, all parts of the ground at the death.

Like he demonstrated at Old Trafford, making Archer pay for bungling up a straightforward catch in the deep. Remember, this was not the injury-nursing, sloppy version of the speedster. This was a pace merchant in the process of attaining the peak of his powers, and he told Nasser Hussain as much after England applied the finishing touches to their white-ball rout of India at Lord’s. “This is the best I’ve bowled consistently, I haven’t bowled one bad ball,” he proclaimed. Yet Tilak passed the test with flying colors in the ultimate over.

He cleared his front leg and dispatched Archer’s hard lengths for successive sixes en route to mid-wicket, the bounce that would spell India’s doom rode perfectly on that occasion. The riposte from the spearhead? A tramline yorker that was squirted away to third man. If that was an ingenious shot, Tilak fares well on the orthodoxy quotient too. In the dead rubber at Southampton, he lofted Archer down the ground with a ramrod straight bat on his way to a 24-ball fifty, the second fastest for India in England after Abhishek Sharma’s rampage earlier in the series. The jury is out on whether Tilak will revert to one drop ever but if final flourishes are what the team has designated him to deliver, Hardik Pandya will have able company once he joins the fold.

India are scheduled to play the slam-bang cricket in New Zealand in October after hosting West Indies, therefore that cushion towards the end will be nice to have taking into account their tendency to crumble on seam-friendly pitches. “Psychologically or mentally, I think the challenge for the team is to accept the fact that we are underachieving in foreign conditions,” assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said of India’s alarming dip. “And to throw the gauntlet to the players that look the big prize is two years down the line in Australia. Do we want to be a team that smashes 250 in India and looks great hitting sixes at Eden Gardens or would you like to come to places like Manchester and Southampton, where things are slightly different, and go on to excel? Do we have the mentality to make those adjustments?”

If runs continue to flow from the willow of an improving Tilak, who knows, India might fancy his services in the one-day setup as well. For, the core group is not yet settled and a wildcard entry cannot be ruled out in the preparation phase of the World Cup despite the fact that Tilak’s handful of appearances in the format were registered back in 2023, including a half-century against South Africa at Boland Park. Niggles are making matters worse from a stability point of view for India, a concern Shubman Gill admitted following the departure of all-rounder Washington Sundar in the middle of the second fixture. Meanwhile, Tilak is plumping his case, having amassed 275 runs in five innings for India A during the ODI tri-series in Sri Lanka.

His overall strike-rate of 131.8 on the senior assignment needed bumping up, the media suggested, notwithstanding his fairly decent trips to the crease. “From Ireland to England, we were losing four or five wickets inside the powerplay or within the first 10 overs in several matches. Going in and trying to accelerate immediately in that situation doesn’t make sense. That’s always in my mind. I know I can hit the first ball, but I’m playing for the country, and that comes with responsibilities.”

“In this game, you have to bat in different positions, and especially in those conditions, it isn’t easy. At the same time, I’ve always said that I do whatever the team requires. If I have to grind it out for the team, I’ll do that. If I have to hit from ball one, I can do that as well,” added Tilak, whose ton for Medak Falcons in Telangana T20 League featured a proper hammering of a varied spin unit. His quiet resurgence holds immense value for a team undergoing transition.