Tilak Varma will play both the T20Is and ODIs on the New Zealand tour.
India’s T20I vice-captain Tilak Varma admitted that it was challenging for him to move from the no. 3 spot to the finisher's role in the playing XI, but he is confident of finishing the game and winning matches for the Men in Blue side.
For a while now, Tilak has been batting at either No. 5 or No. 6 in T20I. To excel in this position, he had to consistently enhance his skills.
Tilak Varma has scored 651 runs in 21 games at the No. 3 spot in T20Is with a strike rate of 150.69 and scored both his centuries at that batting position. He has scored 451 runs in 19 T20Is at No. 5 at a strike rate of 146.90 and 197 runs in 9 games at No. 6 with a strike rate of 195.04.
"It's difficult to change the numbers from 3 to 5 and 6. It will be slightly challenging. But I have been working on that. How can I finish the games? I have said that I love finishing the games for the country. So, for me as an individual, if you see, it will be easier batting at 3. But unfortunately, now I should bat at 5 or 6 because we have got that combination at the top right now,” Tilak Varma said during the press conference after the fifth IND v WI T20I in Bengaluru got washed out.
Tilak had done well at no. 3 spot, but Ishan Kishan’s comeback and captain Shreyas Iyer at no. 4 led to Tilak Varma dropping down the batting order. He has done well down the batting order and even played a match-winning knock in the final of the 2025 Asia Cup against Pakistan in Dubai.
"Kishan is batting at number 3 now, and he is batting really brilliantly there. So, for me now, I think there is no option but to bat at 5 and 6 and do the job for the team. So, I am mentally prepared for that role. And if you see the last few games, I have won from there. So, I am pretty confident I can do well there as well," he added.
The 23-year-old claims that he has been practicing hard in the nets in an attempt to perfect his shot selection as well as his skill level at playing in the lower order.
"Yeah, we should do that; otherwise, it will be slightly tough. When you go in to bat as a finisher, if a slower one comes into your arc, you should go for 6. Otherwise, if you see in T20, most of the time, if you go into that role of 5 or 6, you will get a maximum of 5 to 6 overs to bat.
So, I have changed personally. I have been in this role in my childhood as well. I have got the shots going all over the ground. So, I am confident that if I bat at 3 or 5, I have the technique to adapt. So, if I practice for 1 or 2 days, I can do any role for the team. Now, if I come back to No. 3, I can adapt after a day or two of practice. I am confident of batting anywhere," he noted.
The Indian cricket team has been on a hectic tour schedule for the past few months, touring the UK, Japan and India. The players are soon off to New Zealand for an all-format tour. Tilak admitted that it was difficult but added that mental strength was essential to play in the best manner possible.
"It will be slightly challenging. But as professional cricketers, we can't give any excuse because when we play back-to-back series, there will be different time zones and all those things. We are used to it now. If you see, for any youngster coming into the team, it will be slightly challenging.
But again, you are playing for the country and at the highest level. So, as I said, you should be mentally strong enough to prepare for any challenge, any conditions, so that you can become a bigger player," he added.
The 23-year-old Hyderabadi batter hopes to translate the positives from the West Indies series into amazing performances in New Zealand. Notably, Tilak Varma was added to the Indian ODI squad as well for the last two ODIs of the five-game series as well.
"There have been quite a few good things. Especially in the batting, every game we have scored over 200 plus. So, that's a big positive, and that too, we haven't got a proper all-rounder in the team. We have played both Nitish (Reddy) and (Shivam) Dubey as well. But both have done decently well.
Then Naman (Dhir) bowled well under pressure. As an off-spinner, bowling to right-handers, and that too against a big-gun team like the West Indies. So, there are a few good points for us to take into the upcoming series. As a team, we have introspected a few things in the bowling as well. So, hopefully, we will do well in the New Zealand series," he said.
The five-T20I series between New Zealand and India begins on October 22.
(PTI inputs)