India batter Tilak Varma reportedly underwent an emergency surgery for testicular torsion on Wednesday (January 7), placing his participation in next month's T20 World Cup in doubt.
In the last year and a half, Tilak has become an integral part of India's T20I XI, reflected in his current ICC ranking of three among T20I batters. With the New Zealand T20I series less than two weeks to go, and more importantly, the 2026 T20 World Cup less than a month to go, this latest injury has thrown a spanner in the works for India's plans.
According to various reports, Tilak is all but certain to miss the New Zealand series, and his participation in the World Cup could be touch and go, with recovery expected to take somewhere between 2-4 weeks.
India's current squad for NZ T20Is and T20 World Cup
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.
In case he is not able to be fit in time for the event, how can the defending champions replace him? There are multiple avenues they can take.
Recall Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill played as the vice-captain of the T20I side for most of the second half of 2025, but a prolonged lean patch meant he was dropped right before the World Cup. However, Tilak's injury might just open a window of opportunity for India's Test and ODI captain.
With Tilak mostly batting in the top four, India need a top-order batter to replace him. In Gill's absence, India were set to go back to the successful opening partnership of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma. But they can now use Tilak's injury as an opportunity to keep continuity going at the top with Gill opening and play Samson at three or four.
However, while this would be the least disruptive move in terms of personnel and team balance, that Gill was categorically dropped for a sustained poor run makes it highly unlikely that he'll be brought back without having earned the spot.
Open with Yashasvi Jaiswal
Yashasvi Jaiswal was part of India's 2024 T20 World Cup-winning squad, but didn't play a game. With the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, he was expected to become a fixture in India's T20I XI, but things did not transpire that way. Abhishek Sharma stormed his way into the side and formed a solid partnership with Samson. Then, the Gill era began. By then, Jaiswal had fallen so far down the pecking order that despite Gill being eventually dropped, he couldn't find a spot in the World Cup squad.
Tilak's injury could just change his fortunes around in that regard.
The rationale would be the same as that for bringing back Gill. The only differences would be that Jaiswal would provide a left-handed replacement for Tilak, and is inherently better suited to adopt India's aggressive batting approach, reflected in his career T20 strike rate of 164.31 compared to Gill's 138.59.
Also read: Pressure on Gill? Yashasvi Jaiswal cracks 48-ball ton in successful SMAT chase of 235
Start with Ishan Kishan and bring in a backup batter
Ishan Kishan made a comeback to India's T20I squad following a stellar domestic season. He was expected to be the reserve batter in the squad who could fit in multiple roles based on team requirement. Now, with Tilak's injury, he might get to play a more prominent role in the lead-up to and eventually at the T20 World Cup.
Kishan, who batted at No.3 for SRH in IPL 2025, can be a like-for-like replacement for Tilak in the top-order with the opening combination remaining intact.
India would still need a backup batter in the squad though, and they have two standout options for that: Shreyas Iyer and Sai Sudharsan.
Iyer last played T20Is in December 2023 and has recently returned from a spleen injury he suffered in Australia. He had a personal best campaign in IPL 2025, scoring 604 runs at a strike rate of 175.07. He could also be a straight swap for Tilak in the XI, if India want to only use Kishan as an opener. The only thing going against Iyer would be his right-handedness.
This is where Sudharsan comes into the picture. The left-hander made his T20I debut in Zimbabwe in 2024, but didn't get to bat. He hasn't played T20Is since, but has been extremely consistent in the IPL. Last season, Sudharsan scored 759 runs at a strike rate of 156.17, playing the anchor role to perfection as an opener for Gujarat Titans. While not renowned for being a modern-style T20 power-hitter, he has the tools to succeed in the format, if selected.
Another potential candidate India could have considered is Riyan Parag, who would have offered part-time spin capabilities as well, like Tilak. But he hasn't played in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy so far and it's unclear whether he is match-fit or not. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devdutt Padikkal are two other highly left-field options to replace Tilak. Gaikwad recently made his ODI comeback and scored a hundred against South Africa, while Padikkal has been on an unbelievable run-scoring spree in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, albeit both of them are scoring in a different format and have been out of the T20I setup for one-and-a-half and four-and-a-half years respectively.
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