Mumbai Indians batsman Tilak Varma has credited simple but impressive advice from Rohit Sharma for his stunning return to form, revealing how clear thinking helped him pile up a match-winning century against Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026.
Tilak hit a scintillating 101 not out from just 45 balls, laced with eight fours and seven sixes. Mumbai Indians cruised to an impressive 99-run victory. The win also ended MI’s four-match losing streak and gave the five-time champions a much-needed boost in the tournament.
What made the knocking even more remarkable was the change in tempo. The left-hander struggled initially, managing just 19 off 22 balls, before changing gears dramatically to attack the Gujarat Titans bowlers.
On the eve of MI’s clash against Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium, Tilak revealed an interview that changed his approach.
“I spoke to Rohit bhai in particular. He told me to ‘play 15-20 balls’ and that ‘you know what you are capable of’,” Tilak told reporters.
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“(Rohit said) ‘if you play 15 balls, everybody knows what you’re going to do after that. Just don’t look at the situation or anything else, play 15 balls and see what the result is’.”
The clarity of this advice allowed Tilak to block outside pressures and trust his natural game.
“That gave me confidence and I had in my mind that I will play 15 balls and see the rest after that. Once I have played those 15 balls, you automatically get the instinct that I will attack now,” added Tilak.
The 23-year-old also opened up his lean patch earlier in the season, posting scores of 20, 0, 14, 1 and 8. Tilak, however, insisted that he was not burdened with expectations during this phase.
“(In a couple of games) I didn’t get much time in goal and I had to go from the start. Sometimes it comes my way and sometimes I get dropped, so I didn’t put too much pressure on myself that I wasn’t in good shape,” he said.
Tilak also backed teammate Suryakumar Yadav, who has had a relatively quiet IPL so far, saying the star batter is close to producing big innings.
“I wouldn’t say Surya bhai is out of form; he is batting well. If you see the shots he plays in a match, they come from the middle of the bat and it doesn’t look like he is out,” Tilak said.
“It’s just a question of one inning he’s waiting for.
Paralleling past performances, Tilak added, “The same thing happened in the first match of the T20 World Cup. If the (Indian) team didn’t go well in the opening match, the atmosphere would have been different and he did it there.”
Despite frequently moving up and down the batting order for both Mumbai Indians and India, Tilak reiterated his flexibility even as he acknowledged his preferred position.
“I’ve heard the same question (on the batting order) for the last three years. I love batting at No. 3, but I’m always (at bat) where the team needs me whenever it’s No. 4, 5, 6 or 7,” he said.
Tilak also shed light on his approach during difficult phases, stressing that mental clarity often trumps excessive practice.
“To be honest, I always think about what (the team) needs at the time,” he said.
“Sometimes I feel like I have to train more and sometimes I feel like I have to stay out of the game. Before I go to sleep I think about how I feel mentally. It’s not always possible to train more to score – there’s no such thing.”
Regarding his recent approach, he added: “In the World Cup, I didn’t score much at the beginning and I felt I needed to train and I trained a lot. But now (in the IPL) when I didn’t score in 2-3 matches, I felt like staying out.”
“I haven’t practiced much but I have spoken to my childhood coach and if I want to share batting, I do it with Rohit bhai,” added Tilak.
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
22 Apr 2026 21:14 IST
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