'To Be Honest, I Did Not Expect..' – Tilak Varma credits BCCI support for early recovery ahead of T20 World Cup 2026

After returning from injury, Tilak Varma shared his happiness about rejoining the national squad earlier than he expected. The young all-rounder credited the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Centre of Excellence for supporting his recovery process. Tilak said playing in a World Cup has always been a dream for him. His early return has given him extra motivation before the big tournament.

Tilak also spoke about the excitement he felt while walking out to bat in front of a large crowd at DY Patil Stadium. Even though it was only a practice match, he said the crowd support made him feel special. The strong support from fans that gave him full confidence during his innings. The match ended with India defeating South Africa by 30 runs in a high-scoring encounter.

The left-handed batter revealed that watching his teammates attack the bowlers inspired him to play freely as well. He praised the team’s aggressive mindset and said it created a positive atmosphere in the dressing room. “To be honest I did not expect but I will be back on the field this early. Really thankful for COE and BCCI. I always say that World Cup is my biggest dream to play. The way, I entered the ropes and, everyone was shouting 'Tilak Tilak.' So I didn't expect that. I really felt nice and it also boost me when I was going in. The way Ishan was batting, I have seen him, the way Abhishek and everyone was batting, so I was also a bit like 'Mai bhi maarunga jaake.' I did not expect full crowd, the DY Patil was fully packed. It was just a warm up game but still the craze... Really thanks to everyone. The vibe was really terrific, and yeah- Tilak and the Indian team is ready for the World Cup,” Tilak said in a bcci.tv video.

India Delivers Strong All-Round Performance

India decided to bat first and started the match strongly. Ishan Kishan played an attacking innings and scored runs very quickly. He got good support from Abhishek Sharma as the opening pair helped India reach a big score in the early overs. Both players later retired out to give other batters some match practice.

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The scoring rate was still high as Tilak continued to attack and formed a quick partnership with the captain Suryakumar Yadav. Later, Hardik Pandya played a fast cameo which helped India reach a huge total. And some useful contributions from Axar Patel and Rinku Singh made the score even stronger. India finished with 240 runs, showing their powerful batting lineup.

South Africa struggled early in their chase when Arshdeep Singh dismissed George Linde for zero. A brief partnership between Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton gave them hope, but frequent wickets stalled their momentum. Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen tried but they couldn't reach. India will now turn their attention to their World Cup opener against United States.