Bharath Ramaraj
From an Indian perspective, the shirt numbered 18 has a special place in the memory bank of fans. Virat Kohli wore that shirt for more than a decade, and successfully engineered many of India’s chases in the shortest format of the game. But with Kohli retiring from T20Is, the iconic jersey is being missed by his legions of supporters. So, one can imagine when Kohli hung up his boots from that format, he left some big shoes to fill at the No. 3 position.
On his part, the young Tilak Varma has made a good fist of slotting in at No. 3. He has an average of over 55, alongside a strike rate of 169.73 at that position. Recently, in a T20I against England, he also showcased the mental aptitude to help India wriggle out of a quagmire and steer them to a victory. In that match in Chennai, India had found themselves at 78 for 5 and then at 126 for 7 while pursuing a target of 167.
Tilak, however, didn’t lose his composure while facing an attack comprising Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Brydon Carse and Adil Rashid. He even had the audacity to sweep Archer. Despite clicking at No. 3, he might still have to take up the mantle of batting lower down the order in the Asia Cup. The simple reason for that is Shubman Gill’s inclusion in the squad has thrown a spanner in the works of the coaching staff.
Gill, who is going to be a sure starter, is set to open. In such a scenario, Sanju Samson, one of the two incumbent openers, could be asked to bat at one-drop. But the think-tank is unlikely to tinker much with the batting order. So, Tilak is more or less set to continue at his preferred slot. And that could leave Jitesh Sharma and Samson jostling for one of the slots down the order. In some ways, it would be unfair on Samson as he has accumulated three hundreds, in T20Is, in the last 12 months.
There is another worry line in Tilak’s batting template – On occasions, he grapples to up the ante while facing spin. In the 2025 IPL, his strike-rate versus spin was 125. In the four T20Is India have played this year, his strike-rate against spin is just 104.8. Maybe he doesn’t judge the length early while being up against certain kinds of spinners.
With the spinners expected to play a significant role in the UAE, Tilak could very well end up facing enough overs from the tweakers. Here, too, it makes sense for Tilak to bat slightly up the order against the relatively new ball. In his fledgling career so far, Tilak has shown that he blends mental toughness with a fair amount of skill. He also comes across as a problem-solver. Those problem-solving skills would be put to test in the UAE desert.
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