India's T20I series in Australia will begin on October 29.
After the T20I retirement of Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma have taken over the No.3 and 4 spots for India. The recent Asia Cup campaign was an example of just that, noting the versatility of both batters. while also accommodating Shivam Dube at No.3 if the situation arises. However, it took Varma some effort to convince the T20 captain.
Details of India’s tour of Australia 2025
In 30 innings, the 22-year-old has 960+ runs with two centuries. Both of his centuries came during the South Africa tour in November 2024. Interestingly, Varma’s back-to-back centuries have come at the one down spot.
He has played 13 matches at No.3, one extra from the two down spot. But his strike rate shots up from 135 to 170. Tilak Varma believes his centuries came at the right time, just enough to convince his Mumbai Indians teammate.
“Those hundreds came at the right time, under tough conditions. They gave me the belief that I was ready for the big stage. Surya bhai’s best knocks have come at No. 4, so I asked if I could try at three. I told him, ‘You’ve made hundreds there, now let me show what I can do,’” Varma spoke to Sportstar in an exclusive chat.
While oozing with confidence, the young player is statistically correct. SKY has played 47 out of 85 matches at No.4, scoring 60% of his runs (1,614 out of 2,670). The 35-year-old has struck three hundreds and 13 fifties, compared to a solitary ton and six fifties at a spot above.
It’s the perfect path for Varma to walk on and find success in T20Is.
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In the recent Asia Cup 2025, Tilak Varma mostly took the fourth spot or lower. His heroics of an unbeaten 69 in the Final against Pakistan earned him not just the Player of the Match award, but nationwide respect from the fans for his meticulous knock.
The Andhra Pradesh-born is expected to be India’s mainstay in the shortest format. And most likely, he will keep his spot of No.3 on the back of his superior knocks.
After the ODI series in Australia, India will play five T20Is starting from October 29 in Canberra.
Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, and Washington Sundar.
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