Tilak Varma to play in the T20 World Cup warm-up games as Washington Sundar will undergo a fitness test in the coming days.
The BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) has given India batsman Tilak Varma the all-clear to resume playing and participate in two warm-up matches before to the 2026 T20 World Cup. Due to testicular surgery for an injury sustained during the Ranji Trophy earlier in January, he has been sidelined for almost a month.
Tilak will participate in India’s warm-up match against South Africa on February 4 after initially playing for an India A team against the USA on February 2 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. On February 7, India will play the United States in the opening game of the 2026 T20 World Cup in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
Tilak was out from the current Twenty20 International series against New Zealand, and in all but one of the matches, India used Ishan Kishan at number three.
Following his operation, Tilak had been recuperating at the CoE and was making “steady progress with his rehabilitation,” according to a January 26 BCCI statement.
The other player to miss the series was all-rounder Washington Sundar, who is anticipated to take a fitness test in the near future. Due to a shoulder injury, Riyan Parag hasn’t played in about two months, but he will participate in India A’s two warm-up matches before the T20 World Cup. On February 6, the second of those will take place against Namibia.