BENGALURU: On the second day of the Duleep Trophy semifinal between South Zone and North Zone, Tilak Varma adopted the attitude of a Test match batter. Rather than showcase his T20 skills and methods, he buckled down in the face of adversity. With South Zone having lost half the side for less than a 100, the captain, in the company of Shreyas Gopal, displayed the attitude of a seasoned red-ball batter. For over four hours, the pair ground the opposition down.
In the end, this partnership helped South take the initiative after bowling their opponents out for 195 on the first day. After Gopal was dismissed, the southpaw brought up a fine 100 before remaining unbeaten on 116.
For somebody on the outside looking in, the heavily tattooed 23-year-old, another one — "dancing through the storm" is in the works — gives the air of somebody so focused on his white-ball game, especially the shortest format. He's always there on a TV screen whenever India plays in the shortest format.
It's true. Since January 1, 2025, Varma is the third highest capped Indian player in the format (39; only behind Shivam Dube and Abhishek Sharma). That has led to a scenario where when Hyderabad have domestic red-ball fixtures — typically in the winter months — Varma is off playing white-ball fixtures for India. For example, it's why his red-ball outing before this week was last October.
The 23-year-old cannot think of a 'solution' for this problem but his desire is very clear. "The love for Test cricket is there in my blood," he said after his undefeated 51 guided South to the final of the Duleep Trophy on Wednesday. "I have always loved to play red-ball cricket. I never dreamt of playing white-ball cricket for India but that's God's plan. I have debuted in ODIs and T20Is but the thing is my strength is always in red-ball cricket."
That may not necessarily reflect in his appearance records: even though he made his first-class debut at the end of 2018, he has only featured in 24 games. But India's white-ball schedule almost always seems to clash with domestic red-ball games. "I have worked very hard, since the time I was 10, now I'm 23, it was in 2022 when I started playing a lot of white-ball cricket due to the IPL. And I got selected to play for India. But before that, I have grinded a lot in red-ball cricket so it's always my strength."
When queried further, he was rather tongue in cheek. "There's no solution. I cannot play like two games in a day (smiles). Whenever I have an opportunity I should score well, so if I am scoring, it will be upon the selectors. If there's a slot... otherwise, my work is to keep scoring runs and that's all in my hands."
It's clear that the Indian management views Varma as captaincy material. He was named vice-captain for the Ireland series for the first time and it's a label that he has retained for the Afghanistan series. Is it something he enjoys? "I love captaincy," he said. "It gives you more responsibility and I also love the extra pressure that comes with it. Since childhood, I have been captaining in various age-group sides for Hyderabad as well."
