India's designated No. 3, Tilak Varma, was ruled out from the first three T20I games against New Zealand starting from the 21st of January after he underwent abdominal surgery following discomfort during the Vijay Hazare Trophy game between Hyderabad and Bengal.
After having wound up the duties for India in the South Africa T20I series, where he smashed a couple of half-centuries to help India over the line, he returned to lead Hyderabad in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26. He played two games, the first against Chandigarh, where he scored a century, and then followed it with a 34 against Bengal.
Following the match on January 6th, Tilak experienced pain and was immediately advised to undergo scans. This seemed like a massive blow to the Indian contingent ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
