Tilak Varma of Team India has suffered an abdominal ailment, which may knock him out of the next T20I series against New Zealand, according to The Indian Express. According to the source, the left-hander will most likely have surgery after feeling abdominal pain yesterday (January 7).
Tilak was competing in the ongoing 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy for Hyderabad, with their most recent match against Bengal on January 6.
“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. 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 looks bleak,” a source from the Indian board said (via Indian Express).
Tilak’s injury comes at an inopportune time as the T20 World Cup is around a month away (starts February 7). India will host New Zealand for a five-match T20I series at home, with the three T20Is scheduled as curtain raisers to the game’s inaugural year.
Tilak Varma has been in red-hot form in T20Is for India
Varma’s ability to bat at various positions earned him a spot first in T2OI and then he made his way into the refuse as a regular. In the last two years, he has had excellent outings for India in the shortest format.
The right-handed batter was outstanding in Team India’s last five-match series against the Proteas, where he scored 187 runs at an average of over 62 to help them secure a 3-1 series victory. He averaged 47.25 in 20 T20Is last year, with four fifties to his name, including a matchwinning 69* against Pakistan in the final of the Asia Cup 2025.
Overall, Tilak has 1,183 in runs from the 40 T20I matches – at an average of over 49 and a strike rate of 144.09 – including two hundreds. The young bloke also held his own in his 2 VHT hitouts during the 2025-26 season, scoring a combined total of 143 points at an average of 71.50.
Team India announced their 15-man squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup a few days ago and Tilak is part of that.
