T20 World Cup 2026: In a massive setback to the Suryakumar Yadav-led Team India, the middle-order batting mainstay for India in T20Is, Tilak Varma, is expected to be ruled out of the five-match T20I series between India and New Zealand, scheduled to start from January 21 in Nagpur. As per a report by the Indian Express, Tilak suffered an injury in the abdomen, which is likely is force him out of action for at least three to four weeks.
With Tilak's chances of appearing in the five-match T20I series extremely low, there is also a chance of the 23-year-old getting ruled out of the marquee T20 World Cup 2026 scheduled to start on February 7.
Shubman Gill as a replacement?
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The report also indicated that India's out-of-favour batter in T20Is, Shubman Gill, is unlikely to be picked as Tilak's replacement.
The report further stated that Tilak experienced severe pain in his abdomen after breakfast on the morning of January 7, as he was rushed to the hospital in Rajkot. It is worth noting that the young batter was in Rajkot to feature in the Vijay Hazare Trophy game for his domestic side, Hyderabad.
The doctors at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (COE) have advised him to undergo surgery.
“Tilak faced severe pain in his abdomen today (Wednesday). He was rushed to a hospital in Rajkot, where various scans were done, and reports were sent to doctors at the COE," a BCCI source was quoted as saying.
“Doctors have advised him to undergo surgery, which will take three to four weeks for him to recover. Chances of playing the entire T20I against New Zealand look bleak," he added.
If Tilak has surgery, the Indian Team is expected to miss his services for a few Group A matches in the T20 World Cup 2026. India will begin their campaign on February 7 in Mumbai against the United States and then face Namibia in Delhi on February 12. India’s third Group A match is against their arch-rivals Pakistan in Colombo on February 15. After that, the team led by Suryakumar Yadav will play the Netherlands in Ahmedabad on February 18.
India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2026 and New Zealand T20Is: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (WK)