“It’s not a foregone conclusion that he’ll bat at five or six” - India’s assistant coach opens up on Tilak Varma’s ideal batting position

Team India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has opened up on Tilak Varma’s ideal batting position ahead of the team’s virtual quarter-final clash against the West Indies in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. 

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Speaking in the pre-match press conference, Ryan asserted that Tilak is a batter who is pretty comfortable at a 10-over entry point to come out and fire all guns blazing at the backend of the innings.

In the initial five games of the ongoing showpiece event, Tilak was slotted at No.3 as an anchor, as he managed to score only 107 runs at a strike rate of 118. However, he was demoted down the order at No.6 against Zimbabwe, scoring an unbeaten 44 off 16 balls with three fours and four sixes.

“No, it’s not a foregone conclusion that he’ll bat at five or six. I thought the other night, Tilak, he looked like a number six. He looked like someone who’s really comfortable at a 10-over entry point,” Ryan ten Doeschate said in the pre-match press conference.

“And I think that’s a massive kudos to him, the way he’s adapted his game. I don’t think he’s been short on form,” he added.

“I thought that was to look back to his old Tilak and play the situation beautifully. So it’s comforting to know that we have a little bit more power down the middle,” he stated.

Furthermore, Ten Doeschate also sympathized with Tilak, who had undergone abdominal surgery leading up to the mega event, being on the sidelines for at least four weeks, joining the squad mid-way through the New Zealand T20I series.

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“I mentioned before, spending four weeks on the sideline, coming into the tournament and slowly building up is kind of what you expect,” the Dutchman observed.

“Like I always say, the link between getting out of the blocks quickly and setting up for the back end is the key to India’s success. And it’s nice to know that Tilak can perform those roles,” he concluded.

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