Virat Kohli (left), Tilak Varma and Ishan Kishan (right) (Photos by PTI and AP)
New Delhi: Former Indian cricketer Mohammed Kaif has advised Tilak Varma to ignore outside criticism and focus on playing his natural game in the T20 World Cup 2026. Tilak has had a tough tournament so far, scoring 107 runs in five matches at a modest strike rate.
In the match against South Africa, he tried to change his style by playing aggressively, but it backfired when he came out trying a powerful shot.
The Indian cricket team hits the nets in Chennai
Kaif said Tilak should stick to being the team’s anchor, similar to Virat Kohli’s role, rather than trying to hit too many big shots. He pointed out that Tilak changed his style due to the pressure on his strike rate, which affected his performance.“Tilak Varma has his own way of playing. He can play with a slow strike rate.
However, he got out while playing a big shot. There was increasing pressure on him over the strike rate. As a player, you have to follow what is said. But the management’s job is to ask the player to commit to his role. He should play Virat Kohli’s role. He got away from his game of getting out and going for a big shot. “You will never be able to play if you listen to what others say,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
He also explained that India already has many aggressive batsmen, so it should be Tilak’s job to stay till the end and guide the innings.“To become the master of the chase, you will have to bat first until the 20th over. Tilak Varma came out early trying to bat. What is your role? Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Suryakumar Yadav,
Hardik Pandya
and Rinku Singh playing attacking cricket. “There has to be at least one player who takes the game deep,” Kaif said.Tilak is expected to play in India’s crucial match against Zimbabwe in Chennai.