Tilak Learns to Tame Spin, Builds a Case for Test Debut

Tilak Varma. (PC: BCCI Domestic/X)

In 2022, Mumbai Indians (MI) were having a season to forget. Defeat followed defeat, and the five-time champions found themselves at the bottom of the IPL table. Yet, somewhere amid the wreckage, a young left-hand batter quietly announced himself.

Tilak Varma did not seem intimidated by the chaos. At just 19, he kept batting as if the pressure was never on him. By the end of the season, he had scored 397 runs, finishing second only to Ishan Kishan among MI’s run-scorers.

Four years on, the setting has changed from the IPL to the Duleep Trophy, but the script feels remarkably familiar. South Zone found themselves in trouble in the 2026 final after East Zone piled up 708 at Chepauk. Just as Mumbai had struggled around him in 2022, wickets continued to fall around Tilak as South’s innings unravelled.
The numbers have followed the same pattern, too. Tilak currently sits second on the Duleep Trophy’s run charts, with Kishan once again the only batter above him.

At Chepauk, Tilak battled for 211 balls to make 99. With one wicket left, he was one run away from a century. Instead of playing for the milestone, he went for the big shot in an attempt to score quick runs and was dismissed.

Even though the wicket offered little assistance to the bowlers, South Zone’s poor application, coupled with a disciplined bowling effort from East Zone’s Mohammed Shami and company, resulted in South being bowled out earlier than expected. As the wickets kept falling, Tilak, a natural stroke-maker, had to change his approach.

“It’s an important knock for me, but at the same point, I was only focused on what the team needed,” Tilak said while speaking to the media after day four. “I could have taken more chances before itself, but the plan was simply to take it session by session.”

It was far from the first time Tilak had produced an innings of such endurance. He has repeatedly shown an ability to occupy the crease for long stretches. Last year, while playing for Hampshire, he faced 256 balls for his 112. His unbeaten 116 against North Zone last week came from 250 deliveries, while another century took 241 balls. He has also made 111 not out off 193 balls and 121 off 183. The numbers point to a batter who values time at the crease, a trait that could make him an attractive option for Test cricket.

The more revealing part of Tilak’s innings, though, was not the time he spent batting with the tail, but the way he dealt with spin. It has been a troublesome area for him in the IPL, with his strike rate against spinners dropping from 126.98 in 2025 to 118.60 in 2026. The formats may differ, but the weakness has been evident, and Kishan made sure to test him with plenty of spin.

Off-spinner Md Kounain Quraishi, who bowled close to 40 overs, became Tilak’s principal challenger. Using the depth of the crease, Tilak guided the ball past third man for his first boundary against Quraishi. All four of his boundaries came off the back foot against spin. For the most part, he relied on a defence that looked particularly solid off the front foot, while also finding gaps to pick up singles.

Largely, Tilak looked comfortable against spin, which has not always been the case for him. There was little sharp turn for the bowlers, making batting easier, but maintaining composure when the team is under pressure and occupying the crease for long periods still requires character and skill. Tilak showed both.

There were clear signs of improvement from a batter who dreams of playing Test cricket for India.

“Playing red-ball cricket for India is my biggest goal because I love red-ball cricket,” Tilak said. “I thought as a kid, I’d be playing Test cricket first and only after that white-ball cricket. I’m really keen to play red-ball cricket, and let’s see how it goes.”

The harder examination will come on pitches that turn and slow up, where Tilak’s ability against spin will be properly tested. Chepauk, however, suggested there is substance to his Test ambitions. He is willing to do the work required to improve and understands that mastering spin will be central to that journey.

What should interest the selectors is not merely his tally of runs, but the method behind them: a technically sound game, long spells of concentration and an ability to resist the urge to force the pace. Those are useful traits in any red-ball batter, particularly one whose career has largely been shaped by white-ball cricket.

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