NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer Mohammed Kaif has advised Tilak Varma to ignore outside criticism and focus on playing his natural game in the T20 World Cup 2026. Tilak has had a tough tournament so far, scoring 107 runs in five matches at a modest strike rate. In the match against South Africa, he tried to change his approach by playing aggressively, but it backfired when he got out attempting a big shot.
Kaif said Tilak should stick to being an anchor for the team, similar to Virat Kohli’s role, instead of trying to hit too many big shots. He pointed out that Tilak changed his style due to pressure over his strike rate, which affected his performance.“Tilak Varma has his own way of playing. He can afford to play with a slow strike rate. However, he got out while playing a big shot. There was pressure building on him for the strike rate. As a player, you do keep track of what is being said. But it is the job of the management to ask the player to stick to his role. He should play Virat Kohli’s role. He moved away from his gameplay by stepping out and going for a big shot. You’ll never be able to play if you listen to what others are saying,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.He also explained that India already has many aggressive batters, so Tilak’s job should be to stay till the end and guide the innings.“To become a chase master, you will have to first bat till the 20th over. Tilak Varma got out early, trying to hit. What is your role? Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Rinku Singh play attacking cricket. There should be at least one player who takes the game deep,” said Kaif.Tilak is expected to play in India’s crucial match against Zimbabwe in Chennai.
