Tilak Varma on switching from No. 3 to middle-order: ‘There is no option’

Twelve months ago, Tilak Varma was fairly assured of his place at number three in India’s T20I batting order. He was the team’s trusted top-order batsman, capable of anchoring the innings and laying the platform for the middle and lower-order to attack.

But Ishan Kishan’s resurgence and consistency at number three have meant the 23-year-old has had to give up that position and carve out a role in the middle-order.

The left-hander admitted that moving from the top-order to number five or six had been challenging, but said he was ready to embrace the role for the team.

“Honestly, it’s not that easy to change from three to five and six. It will be slightly challenging. But I have been working on that,” Tilak said at the post-match press conference after the fifth T20I against West Indies on Saturday.

“How can I finish the games? I have said before that I want to finish the games for the country. So, I love doing that job. So, for me as an individual, if you see, it will be easier batting at three and finishing the games,” he added.

“But unfortunately, I should bat at five and six because we have got that combination right now. How Ishan (Kishan) is batting at number three, he is batting really brilliantly there. So, for me now, I think there is no option that I should bat at five and six and do the job for the team. So, I am mentally prepared for that role. And if you see a few games, I have won from there. So, I am pretty confident to do well there as well,” Tilak said.

Tilak said he had been working on adapting his batting to both roles and was confident he could switch between number three and numbers five and six depending on the team’s requirements.

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“I have changed personally. I have been in this role when I was in childhood as well. I have got the shots going all over the ground. So I am confident that if I bat at three and five also, I have got both the techniques where I can adapt. So with that, if I practise 1-2 days, then I can do any role for the team,” he said.

“So that’s what I have been practising. I know my technique. If I bat at 5-6, how I should adapt. And again, coming back to 3, how I should adapt. So, just one day for me, in practice, if I do, I will just set up the things, and I am confident to do it anywhere.”

The constant travel between countries and time zones can also be challenging, particularly for younger players, but Tilak said international cricketers had to be mentally prepared for it.

“It will be slightly challenging. But as professional cricketers, we can’t give any excuse that back-to-back series, there are different time zones and all those things. Because we are used to it now. If you see, for any youngster coming in the team, it will be slightly challenging.”

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“But again, you are playing for country and at the highest level. So, as I said, you should be mentally strong enough to prepare for any challenge, any conditions. You should be prepared mentally,” he said.