Tilak Varma further pressed his candidature for the Indian Test team after scoring a brilliant 99 in the recent Duleep Trophy 2026 final for South Zone against East Zone. Tilak Varma was also the captain of the South Zone, who lost the game to the East Zone led by Ishan Kishan.
Tilak Varma won the Player of the Series with 266 runs, and his 99 consisted of 9 fours in 211 balls. During the game, in an interview, Tilak Varma expressed his desire to play Test cricket for India, and let’s take a look at reasons why the T20I vice-captain might be a good fit in the Indian red-ball team.
Here are the 3 reasons why Tilak Varma should play. Test cricket:
- Good technique and temperament
Tilak Varma has the technique and temperament for handling the pressure of red-ball cricket. He has a decent record in first-class cricket, with 1828 runs in 25 games, at an average of 57.12 with 8 centuries and 7 fifties and the best score of 121. He has shown good technique against spin and pace in red-ball cricket and can be handy for India, who are employing a wicketkeeper, Dhruv Jurel, in the middle order as a batter.
- Long-term solution for middle-order problems
Tilak Varma is just 23 years old, and if he is included in the Indian Test team, he can be a long-term solution to their middle-order problems. India has been trying different combinations since the retirement of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and others. Tilak Varma will be the best possible option at no. 5 or 6, doing the job of Ajinkya Rahane. He has shown great game sense to play with tailenders, can rotate strike well and is wonderful against speedsters and spinners.
- Potential leadership qualities
The BCCI has seen some potential for captaincy in Tilak Varma as he was promoted to the Indian vice-captaincy role in the T20I format. It was a surprising move by the BCCI, but they saw something in the Hyderabad First-Class captain. Tilak is even a front-runner for the captaincy of the Mumbai Indians IPL franchise. BCCI can also include Tilak Varma in the Indian Test team and slowly elevate him in the leadership group.
