Major update on Tilak Varma's fitness & return timeline ahead of T20 World Cup 2026
(Courtesy : BCCI)
The India vs New Zealand T20I series will start on January 21 with the opening game in Nagpur.
India’s star batter Tilak Varma is looking forward to his comeback in the national side amid his ongoing recovery from an abdominal injury. The left-handed batsman is part of India’s squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
Varma played in the T20I series against South Africa in December. Following the series, he captained Hyderabad in two matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 in January. Scoring 109 runs against Chandigarh and 34 against Bengal, he showed decent form in the domestic one-day tournament.
However, after the clash against Bengal on January 6, he experienced pain in his abdominal region and was advised to undergo scans. Later, he underwent surgery for his injury in Rajkot. Due to the surgery, he was ruled out of the first three T20I games against New Zealand.
Tilak Varma to check in at BCCI’s CoE
According to a latest report by the Times of India (TOI), Tilak Varma is set to reach the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE) on Tuesday, January 20.
Moreover, the report also states that Varma is not feeling any pain and is heading to the BCCI facility for a fitness test and further assessment of his injury. It also added that Varma might be available to join the India squad in the fourth T20I against New Zealand.
“If everything goes well, he will be fit before the fourth T20I on January 28 in Visakhapatnam. He has resumed physical training and, in a day or two, will start batting and other skill-based activities,” a source was quoted as saying by TOI.
Meanwhile, India’s ODI vice-captain Shreyas Iyer has been added to India’s T20I squad as a replacement in the first three games. Iyer, who recovered from a spleen injury earlier this month, featured in the ODI series against New Zealand recently.
Additionally, spinner Ravi Bishnoi has been added to the squad following Washington Sundar’s injury. The latter suffered a rib injury in the first ODI between India and New Zealand in Vadodara and was ruled out of the ODI and T20I campaigns. Sundar is also part of India’s squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
Meanwhile, the IND vs NZ T20I series will start on January 21 with the first game in Nagpur. The next two matches will be played in Raipur (Jan 23) and Guwahati (Jan 25). The fourth and fifth games will take place at Visakhapatnam (Jan 28) and Thiruvananthapuram (Jan 31).
Why was Tilak Varma ruled out of the first three IND vs NZ T20Is?
Tilak Varma was ruled out of the first three IND vs NZ T20Is due to an abdominal injury.
How many matches will take place during the T20I series between India and New Zealand?
Five T20Is will be played between India and New Zealand.
Who won the ODI series between India and New Zealand?
New Zealand defeated India 2-1 in the campaign.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.