Can Tilak Varma hold off spin-bashing Shreyas Iyer from the India T20I No 3 spot? | Cricket News

Despite his stunning ascent with three T20I tons in the last calendar year, Sanju Samson’s opening spot will spur a lot of interest in India’s immediate assignment after the English pacers winded him down in January. The immense competition among dazzling names in the circuit will also be the reason why southpaw Tilak Varma could find himself between a rock and a hard place, despite a breakout season in the India blues at No. 3.

Even as IPL exploits no longer guarantee a spot in the India squad, the league continues to be an enticing hotbed for selection dynamics, a fine meter to gauge radical shifts among batters on the national radar. It is exactly why openers Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal will have to bide time behind Abhishek Sharma and Samson to wriggle their way back in. The IPL 2025 season also exemplifies why a marauding Shreyas Iyer was a major summer takeaway, and a T20I recall might bolster India’s collective top-order firepower to the next level.

But, is there room for the 30-year-old in the top 4? With captain Suryakumar moving down to No. 4 and keeper-batter Samson and the deadly Abhishek pinned up top, Iyer could draw competition with Tilak, who has had a largely forgettable 2025 season thus far. Batting down below the No.3 slot, where he clobbered two successive centuries against South Africa last October, Tilak failed to rev up the Mumbai Indians middle-order this season. Far from his best, Tilak aggregated 343 runs at a 138.30 strike rate in 13 innings. While that may not warrant immediate scrutiny on the T20I board, the Hyderabad batter may have left a certain window open for Iyer and others with his tepidity against the slower bowlers.

Pulverising spin has been a cornerstone of India’s T20 overhaul since the last World Cup. From July 2024 onwards, spinners from Full-Member nations have been worst-hit by India’s spin charge, conceding 1296 runs at 9.67 runs per over, significantly placed ahead of a surging Australia (8.97). While the Aussies are refurbishing their roster with towering batters and their long levers, the Indians bank on a band of innate bats, attuned to the spin takedown manual.

With the Asia Cup likely to witness tacky pitches and the showpiece T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka also slated to add a spring in the stride of the spinners next year, the defending champions may just be the juggernaut that oppositions would grow to fear the most.

Tilak’s bittersweet returns in this regard could shake up the T20I top-order on the whole. In 17 T20s this year, Tilak’s scoring rates against spin have surprisingly plunged to 121.42 (168 balls) from 152.55 (210 balls) in 2024.

Surrounded by mighty middle-overs spin dominators in Samson, Abhishek and skipper Suryakumar, Tilak may feel the pinch and the need to amp up his strike rates from the middling zone to fend off an Iyer challenge. The spin-devouring Iyer not only flattened middle-overs bowling, but also ironed out chinks against high pace in the 2025 season, improving considerably against the short ball.

Tilak v Iyer in T20 middle-overs 

Iyer’s supreme haul against spin in the middle-overs fetched Punjab Kings 171 runs at a 154.05 SR, with his overall 164.81 strike rate in the phase only bettered by Suryakumar among Indian batters in the IPL season. Tilak’s striking, meanwhile, meandered down to 131.55 for 246 runs in the phase, even slower against spin at 121.84 for 145 runs.

Even if Iyer isn’t exactly back in the equation, the No. 3 race could even boil down to a tussle between Tilak and Samson, should Suryakumar persist at No. 4. In his brief run at the top, Samson’s all-out approach marked a pertinent weakness against high pace early in the innings during the T20Is in South Africa, a mercurial series where he ended up with scores of 107, 0, 0 and 109*. Against England at home, the Kerala batter could not break free from the pace curse with five successive dismissals against the short ball, jotting another bewildering streak where he failed to cross 26.

India’s rigid choices of back-up keepers in the finishing mould in Jitesh Sharma and Dhruv Jurel would also add a layer of complexity if Samson fails to seal a top-three spot. Currently the lead wicketkeeper-batter in the T20I set-up, Samson would not be far off from a run at number three either for his prolific IPL record in the position over the years. He continues to hold the most runs (1952) at No.3 since 2020 in the IPL, posing a higher average (38.27) than Suryakumar (35.17) and Iyer (36.03) while also smoking 99 sixes (highest).

For the belligerent show to roll on without immediate hassles, India will hope that Samson and Tilak/Iyer form specific answers to two out of three top-order slots, preventing another commotion of rehearsals to find their world-beating combination.