‘Where will he bat?’: AB de Villiers piques Tilak Varma’s interest ahead of Afghanistan T20Is

Indian batsman Tilak Varma (AP Photo) India’s quest for consistency in T20I cricket will continue with the three-match series against Afghanistan, but the team’s batting combination could again come under scrutiny, especially with vice-captain Tilak Varma’s role yet to appear fully settled.India, led by Shreyas Iyer, endured a difficult ride after their second T20 World Cup triumph earlier this year. The team lost all six of their T20Is against Ireland and England before eventually going 3-0 against Zimbabwe.The Afghanistan series begins on September 13 (Saturday), with India also scheduled to play a historic T20I against Japan before taking part in the 2026 Asian Games.

AB de Villiers questions Tilak Varma’s role

With several established batsmen competing for the spot, former South Africa star AB de Villiers believes India could face a selection headache, especially when it comes to deciding where Tilak Varma fits in the batting order.On his YouTube channel, de Villiers pointed out the number of batting options available to India and asked how the team would accommodate its vice-captain.“There will definitely be some selection issues in terms of batsmen. Obviously Shreyas, the captain, Ishan Kishan, Samson, Sooryavanshi and then there’s the all-rounder, Tilak Varma; I think the balance is quite tricky there. Where will he bat?” said de Villiers.Tilak’s recent numbers also underline why his position could become a topic of discussion.Since the 2026 T20 World Cup, the left-hander has scored 255 runs from 10 innings at a strike rate of 159.36, with three scores of 50 or more. But the numbers need some context. One of those half-centuries came during the recent Zimbabwe series, while the other was scored in the fifth T20I against England, when India had already conceded the series.Its total returns therefore look stronger in isolation than its full-period performance suggests. Tilak endured a particularly rough ride during India’s tour of the UK and his inconsistency remained a concern despite occasional high scores. This makes his position in the Indian batting order an even more important point ahead of the Afghanistan series.The presence of Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gives India several batting options, while the team also has to reckon with its all-rounders.For de Villiers, the challenge is not just to pick the strongest players, but to find a combination in which each batsman has a clearly defined role.He believes India have enough quality in their squad to deal with Afghanistan, but stressed that clarity will be especially important against a side he sees as dangerous.“A really, really strong team, but the balance will be hard to find. It’s T20 cricket, so they can play with the team a bit. There are different roles, but the clarity of roles will still be incredibly important for India because they play quite a dangerous team,” said de Villiers.The Afghanistan series marks the next phase of India’s T20I campaign after their contrasting results against Ireland, England and Zimbabwe.Under Iyer, India will now look to build more stability in the format, with the batting order likely to be one of the key areas of focus.The three-match series against Afghanistan begins on September 13 before India take on Japan in a historic T20I before turning their sights on the 2026 Asian Games.