The Hampshire batter scored a century on his County debut. He did so against Essex.
Young Indian batter Tilak Varma has said that he enjoys the challenges that comes with playing Test cricket, despite often being regarded as a T20 batter. Tilak Varma was speaking after scoring an unbeaten 98 for Hampshire on Day two of their County Championship Division One match against Essex in Chelmsford on Monday.
He is just two runs away from scoring a century on his County debut. His unbeaten knock, along with Liam Dawson’s unbeaten 79, has helped Hampshire post 293/4 and they trail Essex by just three runs in the first innings.
“When you are in 90s at the end of day’s play, it goes in your mind. You are like 2 more runs, 5 more runs. I will be living in present. Even after 100, there is a long way to go. That’s how I look at it. From here, if we keep going and get another 100-150 runs, it is good for us and the team,” the 22-year-old told the Hampshire media team during an interview on Monday after stumps.
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In the IPL, the left-handed batter plays for Mumbai Indians (MI). In IPL 2025, Tilak Varma scored 343 runs from 16 matches at a strike-rate of 138.31. This included two half-centuries. The Hyderabad cricketer has played 25 T20Is for India and has scored 749 runs at a strike-rate of 155.07. This includes three fifties and two centuries.
The youngster is currently third in the ICC men’s T20I rankings with 804 rating points. He has also played four ODIs, but is yet to make his Test debut for India. This is despite having a good First-Class record wherein he has scored 1204 runs from 28 innings at an average of 50.16 (Four fifties and five centuries).
“I always say that Test cricket is my favourite game. I was waiting for this opportunity. Being a world no.3 batsman in T20Is, everybody thinks I am a good T20 batter. But I know, and I have been saying this for a long time, I am a good Test player,” he said.
Tilak Varma also spoke on his love of playing Test cricket especially in English conditions. “I love playing Test cricket, playing close to the body, being challenged, especially in English conditions. It was cold weather today in the morning so the ball was moving a bit and turning,” he concluded.
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