With the Duleep Trophy fading away, Tilak Verma is focusing on the Afghanistan T20Is

South Zone captain Tilak Varma may have weathered a disappointing Duleep Trophy campaign, but India’s T20I vice-captain is already looking forward to his next challenge: the upcoming three-match series against Afghanistan.

East zone has built up a massive total lead of 584 runs and virtually sealed victory in the home season opener, there was little left for the South Zone to contend for. However, Tilak will have an early opportunity to put the setback aside and focus on international success.

“Yes, the (personal) form has been really good. But at the same time it’s a different format (against Afghanistan). So I should change gears again. I’m pretty sure about that,” Tilak was quoted as saying by PTI after the fourth day of the Duleep Trophy final.

“My aim now is to win the series in Afghanistan. So I will go with the same confidence and see how it goes,” he added.

India will begin their campaign against Afghanistan in New Delhi, with the opening T20I to be played on September 13. For Tilak, the series represents a timely chance to bounce back and chase a new target after the disappointment of the Duleep Trophy.

RED-BALL CRICKET IS MY A-GAME

Despite the Afghanistan series starting just days after the Duleep Trophy ends, Tilak feels he only needs a few practice sessions to get back into the rhythm of white-ball cricket.

“I started my cricket career professionally with red ball cricket. But if you have seen me in recent years, I have been playing a lot of white ball cricket.

“But like I said, the red ball has always been my favorite game, so that’s my A game. But since the last five, six years, I’ve also been really good with the white ball,” he said.

The Hyderabad batsman has also made a strong impression in leadership roles, recently leading India A in their series against Sri Lanka A before taking charge of the south zone in the Duleep Trophy.

Tilak believes that these captaincy assignments were valuable for his development, gave him a new perspective and added an important new dimension to his cricketing journey.

“It was a lot of learning because when you see now we have quite a lot of young people (in the south zone) and also India And when I was leading the side we were also quite young.

“When you have great talent and desire to win from every individual, then it’s easy to be a captain. There are many things I can learn as a captain. I’m still growing as a captain and I’m enjoying it right now,” he said.

Tilak is the vice-captain of the Indian T20I side.

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Published on:

09 Sep 2026 19:50 IST