Tilak underwent a surgery for abdominal issue earlier this month.
India batter Tilak Varma, who is not featuring in the ongoing five-T20I series against New Zealand, has kicked off his preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, starting February 7.
Tilak underwent a surgery for abdominal issue earlier this month. He was initially ruled out of the first three T20Is against New Zealand, the BCCI clarified through a release that despite resuming physical training, the southpaw will need more time to attain “full match fitness".
With the T20 World Cup around the corner, Tilak shared a positive update on his recovery through a social media post.
Taking to Instagram, the left-hander posted a video, in which he can be seen batting, bowling, running and weight training in the gym.
Tilak Varma recently checked into the BCCI CoE in order to seek clearance on his fitness and further assessment to get Return to Play.
According to reports, the 23-year-old has received fitness clearance and will link-up with the rest of India’s T20 World Cup squad on February 3 for their warm-up fixtures.
Tilak’s return is a big boost for the Indian team as he has established himself as a key batter in the T20I setup. He played an instrumental role in the team’s Asia Cup triumph last September, with a match-winning knock of 69* (53 balls) in the title clash against Pakistan.
India will begin their T20 World Cup title defence on February 7 against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium.
India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Axar Patel (vc), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Washington Sunder, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy