Tilak Varma ruled out of last two T20Is:Left-hander to join India squad before T20 World Cup, Shreyas Iyer to remain with team

Tilak Varma has been officially ruled out of the fourth and fifth T20Is of the five-match series against New Zealand, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced. Shreyas Iyer, who had come in as Tilak’s replacement for the first three matches, will thus remain with the squad for the last two T20Is. The BCCI also said that Tilak will join the Indian team in Mumbai before the Men in Blue take on South Africa in a warm-up match before the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. The left-hander had undergone surgery for an abdominal injury. Tilak Varma ruled out of remaining two T20Is The left-hander was initially ruled out of the first three T20Is against New Zealand after he had surgery for an abdominal issue in Rajkot. The BCCI had said that his ‘availability for the remaining two matches will be assessed based on his progress during the return-to-training and skill phases.’ In a statement on 26 January, the Indian cricket board wrote that Tilak, “will require additional time to regain full match fitness and will not be available for the final two T20Is of the ongoing IDFC First Bank five-match T20I series.” The good news for Indian fans, however, is that Tilak, who is at number three in the ICC T20I rankings, is expected to be fit by 3 February, in time for the T20 World Cup that starts on 7 February. Iyer, who so far has not featured for India in the T20I series, will thus remain with the squad. Also read: WATCH| Conway, Duffy check Abhishek’s bat after his record fifty: Bumrah’s first-ball wicket, Hardik’s flying catch; top moments records India to play T20 World Cup warm-up match vs South Africa Prior to the T20 World Cup, India will play a solitary warm-up match against South Africa. The match will be played at the DY Patil Stadium on 4 February as per Cricbuzz. This will be the only warm-up match before the T20 World Cup. Placed in Group A, India will start their T20 World Cup campaign against the USA on 7 February at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The much-awaited India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup match is on 15 February. India have unassailable 3-0 series lead against New Zealand India already have an unassailable 3-0 lead against New Zealand in the ongoing five-match T20I series. Suryakumar Yadav and co have registered emphatic victories in the first three matches, where the Men in Blue have displayed solid batting performances. The third T20I saw India chase down a 154-run target in just 10 overs with Abhishek Sharma hitting a 20-ball 68.