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Tilak Varma

Tilak Varma Biography and Career

A left-handed batsman and part-time off-spin bowler, Tilak Varma is one of those many Indian cricketers who caught the eye of the national selectors after impressing in the Indian Premier League. Born in the year 2002, to a Telugu family in Hyderabad, his father worked as an electrician while his mother was a homemaker.

Varma started training for cricket under a coach at the age of 11. Since his house was quite far away from the ground where he went for his cricket training, his coach would drop him off on his bike every day. That was a daily journey of about 40 kilometres until Tilak's family moved closer to the academy.

After impressing in club games and age-group state level, Tilak made his first-class debut for Hyderabad in 2018. In his first Ranji Trophy season, he went on to amass over 200 runs at a strike rate of more than 145. That same year, Tilak made his T20 debut in the Syed Mushtaq Ali, and his List A debut the following year. In his first Vijay Hazare season, Tilak impressed everyone with his all-round performances. In five matches, he scored 180 and also picked up four wickets. This led to him being included in India under-19 squad for the 2020 Under-19 World Cup. However, Tilak could not make the most of this opportunity and scored less than 80 runs in the tournament.

Tilak continued to perform well in domestic cricket and another successful season helped him get into the Indian Premier League. In February 2022, Tilak, who had a base price of Rs 20 lakh, was roped in by the Mumbai Indians for a whopping Rs 1.7 crore after he scored 215 runs in seven games at a strike rate of 147.26 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali. In his second IPL match of the season, the young batter fired on all cylinders with a 33-ball 61 against Rajasthan Royals. He played all 14 games that season and scored 397 runs at an average of 36.09 and a strike rate of 131.02. There has been no looking back for Tilak since.

In the following IPL, he scored 343 runs at an average of over 42 and a strike rate of over 160. His performance was even better in 2024 when he scored over 400 runs at a strike rate of almost 150.

Three back-to-back successful IPL seasons meant Tilak's international call-up wasn't too far. In 2023, he received his maiden India call-up for the T20 series against the West Indies. On his debut in the first match of the series, Tilak top-scored for India with a knock of 39. In the next game, he scored a half-century and also became the youngest batter after Rohit Sharma to score a T20I fifty. Tilak finished the series as the highest run-scorer. The very next month, he made his ODI debut in the Asia Cup. In November 2024, he scored his maiden T20I century against South Africa. Tilak scored an unbeaten 107 off just 56 balls and became the youngest player ever to score a century against a top-10 nation. In the same series, he once again smashed a century, this time an unbeaten 120 runs off just 47 balls. This made him only the second Indian cricketer to score two back-to-back T20I centuries.

Beyond Cricket

As mentioned above, Tilak's father worked as an electrician until their fortunes changed in 2022 when Tilak was bought by the Mumbai Indians for Rs 1.7 crore. The next season, he was retained by the five-time champions for the same amount. In 2024, he again received Rs 1.7 crore, before Mumbai Indians retained him for a huge Rs 8 crore for IPL 2025. In an interview with Cricbuzz in 2022, Tilak talked about the importance of the IPL money to him and his family.

"Growing up, we’ve had a lot of financial difficulties. My father, with his meagre salary, had to look after my cricket expenses as well as my elder brother’s studies. In the last few years, with some sponsorship and match fees, I could just about take care of my cricketing expenses. We don’t own a house as yet. So with whatever I have earned in this IPL, my only aim is to get a house for my parents. This IPL money gives me the luxury to play freely for the rest of my career," he said.

Tilak Verma Records 

Tilak Verma T20I records 

• Most runs in T20Is without being dismissed (2025): In January 2025, with 318 runs across four unbeaten innings, he achieved the record (among full member nations) for scoring most runs between dismissals, going past Mark Chapman's 271. 
• Most runs in four consecutive innings by an Indian batter (2025): He also broke Virat Kohli's record to become the Indian batter with the most runs across four consecutive T20I innings (318 runs).
• The highest partnership for India (2024): Shared a 210-run stand with Sanju Samson against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2024.
• Youngest to score a century against South Africa (2024): achieved at the age of 22 years and five days. 
• Second Indian to score two consecutive centuries (2024): achieved against South Africa in November 2024.

Tilak Verma IPL records 

Most runs by a teenager in a season (2022): at 19 years of age, he scored the most runs scored by a teenager in a single IPL season (368), surpassing Rishabh Pant's previous record.