The T20 World Cup 2026 will begin on February 7th. Team India has already been announced. Before this mega event, Team India is playing a five-match T20 series against New Zealand, in which Shreyas Iyer has also been selected. When Iyer returned to the T20 team, everyone thought he might play in the 2026 T20 World Cup, but that is no longer the case.
Can Tilak Varma play Ind vs NZ 1st T20I?
In fact, Tilak Varma, whom Iyer replaced in the T20 team, has largely recovered from his injury and may return for the fourth T20 match against New Zealand. In this situation, star right-handed batsman Shreyas Iyer is facing a major setback. Even though Shreyas Iyer is in the T20 squad against New Zealand, there is no guarantee that he will find a place in the playing XI for the first three matches as captain Suryakumar Yadav has made it clear that wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan, who has performed exceptionally well in domestic cricket recently, will play at number 3.
In fact, Tilak Varma has performed brilliantly at number 3 for Team India in T20s. He has consistently performed well in the middle order for the past two years. In 2025, he scored 567 runs in 18 innings at an average of 47.25. He was India’s second-highest run-scorer after Abhishek Sharma (859 runs).
Read More: IND vs NZ 1st T20I: Shreyas Iyer out! This player can play for India
Recently, during the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy in Rajkot, Tilak Varma suffered an abdominal problem, which required surgery. According to media reports, Tilak Varma is now recovering rapidly. He has also begun light training. On January 20th, Tilak Varma reported to the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) for his final fitness test.
Read More: India will face South Africa before T20 World Cup 2026, official announcement
If he passes the fitness test, he could return to the team for the fourth T20I in Visakhapatnam on January 28th. Reports also claim that Shreyas Iyer was not part of the plans for the 2026 T20 World Cup. He was brought in solely to replace Tilak Varma in the T20 series against New Zealand.
Read More: Star cricketer return in playing 11 after 776 days ahead of T20 World Cup 2026
Iyer has not played a T20 International since 2023. As soon as Tilak returns fit, Team India will plan its future plans with Tilak Varma, and Shreyas Iyer may be dropped from the T20 squad.