India Suffer Major Setback Ahead of T20 World Cup, Tilak Varma To Miss last Two T20Is Against New Zealand

Tilak Varma's return to the pitch has been further delayed and the Indian batter will miss the last two T20I matches against New Zealand. Ahead of the T20 World Cup, this proves to be a major setback for the Men In Blue who will start their T20 World Cup defence against USA on february 7.

Tilak Varma To Miss Last Two T20I Matches Against New Zealand

BCCI confirmed Tilak is expected to join the squad in Mumbai on the eve of the T20 World Cup. An official statement confirmed the development. Tilak had to be hospitalised after he sustained an abdominal injury in Rajkot and later he underwent a minor surgery. Shreyas Iyer has replaced him in the squad and it remains to be seen if Tilak gets fit in time for the showpiece event.

"India batter Tilak Varma has resumed physical training and is making steady progress with his rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. However, he will require additional time to regain full match fitness and will not be available for the final two T20Is of the ongoing IDFC First Bank five-match T20I series.

"Tilak will link up with the squad in Mumbai once he has regained full match fitness on 3rd February, ahead of India’s warm-up match for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.

“The Men’s Selection Committee has recommended that Shreyas Iyer will continue as Tilak Varma’s replacement for the remaining matches.”

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India’s Updated T20I Squad

Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ishan Kishan (WK), Ravi Bishnoi.

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