With less than a month to go for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, India have been dealt an untimely setback. Middle-order mainstay Tilak Varma has undergone surgery after being diagnosed with testicular torsion and is set to miss the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand, casting a cloud over his availability for the global event.
The 23-year-old left-hander was in Rajkot representing Hyderabad in the Vijay Hazare Trophy when he complained of acute pain on Wednesday. He was immediately rushed to Gokul Hospital, where scans confirmed testicular torsion — a medical emergency that requires prompt surgical intervention.
“He was advised immediate surgery and the procedure was successfully carried out yesterday. Tilak is doing well and will be discharged today,” Saurashtra Cricket Association president Jaydev Shah, who has been closely monitoring the situation, told The Times of India.
While the surgery itself has gone smoothly, Tilak is expected to be sidelined for at least three to four weeks — a timeline that effectively rules him out of the New Zealand T20I series starting January 21 in Nagpur and puts his T20 World Cup preparation in serious jeopardy.
Tilak has been a key pillar of India’s T20 setup over the past year, offering left-handed balance and composure in the middle order. His value was underlined in the Asia Cup final last year, where he produced a match-winning unbeaten 69 against Pakistan to steer India to the title. Since then, he has been viewed as a near-certainty for India’s World Cup plans.
The selectors are now likely to draft in a replacement for the New Zealand series, with Shreyas Iyer emerging as a strong contender for a T20 comeback after impressing in the limited-overs domestic circuit. However, sources indicate that India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill is unlikely to be considered for the shortest format at this stage.
For the team management, Tilak’s injury adds another layer of uncertainty in the final stretch of World Cup preparations. Even if he regains fitness in time, match readiness could become a concern, particularly given the intensity of a global tournament.
India will be hoping for a swift recovery, but with the clock ticking, Tilak Varma’s race against time has become one of the biggest talking points in India’s T20 World Cup build-up.
