Online Sports Desk
Tilak Varma is only 23 years of age but he is already carrying the massive responsibility of being the vice-captain of Indian T20I side. It is a massive responsibility considering India are the reigning T20 World Cup champions. The star India batter scored a match-winning fifty in the Asian Games 2026 gold medal match against arch-rivals Pakistan off only 21 balls.
Tilak, who was retained for Rs 8 crore by Nita Ambani’s Mumbai Indians, revealed that he has learned a lot from former India captain Rohit Sharma both on and off the field. Speaking on JioStar’s ‘Follow the Blues: Gen-Next’, Tilak Varma said, “I haven’t played under Virat bhai’s captaincy but have played under Rohit bhai’s captaincy, both in MI and also in the Indian team. So, I have learned a lot of things from him. On the ground, the intensity is very high; there’s already so much running through your mind on the field, so you can’t take in as much. So, when I am off the field, I discuss a lot of things with him.
“And, like, when Rohit bhai and Virat bhai were playing, I didn’t use to be in the playing eleven. So, sitting outside, I used to observe which bowler Rohit bhai brings on and when, how he uses the bowlers. I used to observe all those things from him, and I’ve incorporated that into my own approach now while being on the field,” Tilak Varma said.
Tilak, who is currently world No. 10 batter in the ICC T20I rankings, has notched up 1719 runs in 66 T20I matches at an average of 44.07 and strike-rate of 145.06 with 2 hundreds and 10 fifties till date.
With Shreyas Iyer becoming the T20I captain earlier this year, Tilak Varma was given the massive responsibility of being his deputy.
“First of all, it’s a responsibility. So, people start looking at you differently than before, like slightly more senior. Only if you’ve done something will they hand you the vice-captaincy; they won’t just give it like that. So, I feel that a little extra responsibility comes with it, off the field especially.
“On the field, the captain will take care of things. Obviously, when he isn’t there, your turn will come. So, I keep sharing my thoughts with Shreyas. As for the rest of the team’s atmosphere, off-field conversations and players’ mindsets, in a team sport, players have their ups and downs, so I observe how you interact with the youngsters and where everyone stands. I look at all of that, and when I get an opportunity on the field, I will use my brain as well,” the MI star said.
Tilak Varma would love to bat at No 3
Tilak Varma has been shuttled up and down the batting order in the T20I career as well as the more recent Asian Games 2026 campaign. But the Indian vice-captain revealed that his favoured position was No. 3.
“I always say, I prefer batting in the top order. I always love batting at number three. From opening, in the Under-19 World Cup, I played at number three. After that, in the IPL, I played at number four, and from there at five and six. So, I went on to play basically in every position. Since childhood, I’ve been an opener, so if you tell me to open even now, I’ll do it. But I really love batting at three,” Tilak said.
