Asian Games 2023
September 11 2023

Tilak Varma to Miss Asian Games as World Cup Reserve

The newest member of India Cricket Team, Tilak Varma is in high demand. While he was supposed to play in the Asian Games 2023, he is likely to miss the continental event as Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma want him to stay back with the squad for World Cup 2023. This development is especially after Shreyas Iyer suffered another back problem en route to full recovery.

Apart from Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Prasidh Krishna and Yuzvendra Chahal are among the reserves even though they have not been named during World Cup 2023 squad announcement.

While Tilak Varma is not in the World Cup 2023 squad, the situation has changed. Shreyas Iyer’s back problem is concerning. And with the team management keen on an explosive left-hander in the middle-order, they want Tilak Varma to stay back as per an ESPN Cricinfo report.

Since making his debut in West Indies, Tilak Varma has impressed all. In 7 matches, Tilak has a half-century and has averaged 34.80 with a strike rate of 138.09. Team India will open their World Cup 2023 campaign against Australia on Oct 8 in Chennai. Hence, if Tilak Varma makes the trip to Hangzhou, he will miss the opener of World Cup 2023.

However, the India team management does not want to risk Tilak Varma in Asian Games 2023 as it’s not a “priority”. Sanju Samson is another batting cover. But it’s unclear whether he will be sent to Asian Games instead. He will only be a third wicketkeeper-batter after KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan.

Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda and Sai Sudarshan are three standby batters for India in Asian Games 2023. Hence, if Tilak Varma misses out, either of them will travel with the main squad.