Tilak Learns to Tame Spin, Builds a Case for Test Debut

In 2022, Mumbai Indians (MI) were having a season to forget. Defeat followed defeat, and the five-time champions found themselves at the bottom of the IPL table. Yet, somewhere amid the wreckage, a young left-hand batter quietly announced himself.

Tilak Varma did not seem intimidated by the chaos. At just 19, he kept batting as if the pressure was never on him. By the end of the season, he had scored 397 runs, finishing second only to Ishan Kishan among MI’s run-scorers. playerbros.org

Four years on, the setting has changed from the IPL to the Duleep Trophy, but the script feels remarkably familiar. South Zone found themselves in trouble in the 2026 final after East Zone piled up 708 at Chepauk. Just as Mumbai had struggled around him in 2022, wickets continued to fall around Tilak as South’s innings unravelled.
The numbers have followed the same pattern, too. Tilak currently sits second on the Duleep Trophy’s run charts, with Kishan once again the only batter above him.

At Chepauk, Tilak battled for 211 balls to make 99. With one wicket left, he was one run away from a century. Instead of playing for the milestone, he went for the big shot in an attempt to score quick runs and was dismissed.

Even though the wicket offered little assistance to the bowlers, South Zone’s poor application, coupled with a disciplined bowling effort from East Zone’s Mohammed Shami and company, resulted in South being bowled out earlier than expected. As the wickets kept falling, Tilak, a natural stroke-maker, had to change his approach.

“It’s an important knock for me, but at the same point, I was only focused on what the team needed,” Tilak said while speaking to the media after day four. “I could have taken more chances before itself, but the plan was simply to take it session by session.”

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It was far from the first time Tilak had produced an innings of such endurance. He has repeatedly shown an ability to occupy the crease for long stretches. Last year, while playing for Hampshire, he faced 256 balls for his 112. His unbeaten 116 against North Zone last week came from 250 deliveries, while another century took 241 balls. He has also made 111 not out off 193 balls and 121 off 183. The numbers point to a batter who values time at the crease, a trait that could make him an attractive option for Test cricket.

The more revealing part of Tilak’s innings, though, was not the time he spent batting with the tail, but the way he dealt with spin. It has been a troublesome area for him in the IPL, with his strike rate against spinners dropping from 126.98 in 2025 to 118.60 in 2026. The formats may differ, but the weakness has been evident, and Kishan made sure to test him with plenty of spin.

Off-spinner Md Kounain Quraishi, who bowled close to 40 overs, became Tilak’s principal challenger. Using the depth of the crease, Tilak guided the ball past third man for his first boundary against Quraishi. All four of his boundaries came off the back foot against spin. For the most part, he relied on a defence that looked particularly solid off the front foot, while also finding gaps to pick up singles.

Largely, Tilak looked comfortable against spin, which has not always been the case for him. There was little sharp turn for the bowlers, making batting easier, but maintaining composure when the team is under pressure and occupying the crease for long periods still requires character and skill. Tilak showed both.

There were clear signs of improvement from a batter who dreams of playing Test cricket for India.

“Playing red-ball cricket for India is my biggest goal because I love red-ball cricket,” Tilak said. “I thought as a kid, I’d be playing Test cricket first and only after that white-ball cricket. I’m really keen to play red-ball cricket, and let’s see how it goes.”

The harder examination will come on pitches that turn and slow up, where Tilak’s ability against spin will be properly tested. Chepauk, however, suggested there is substance to his Test ambitions. He is willing to do the work required to improve and understands that mastering spin will be central to that journey.

What should interest the selectors is not merely his tally of runs, but the method behind them: a technically sound game, long spells of concentration and an ability to resist the urge to force the pace. Those are useful traits in any red-ball batter, particularly one whose career has largely been shaped by white-ball cricket.

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Wednesday night underlined one of the enduring attractions of the Champions League: there is rarely just one way to win. Barcelona produced an attacking masterclass at home, while Liverpool had to dig deep before finding a way past a stubborn Atlético Madrid. By the end of the evening, both had three points and plenty to feel encouraged about.

Barcelona were ruthless from the outset against Feyenoord. Raphinha needed barely three minutes to break the deadlock, giving the home side the perfect start and immediately putting the Dutch visitors under pressure.

Karim Adeyemi doubled Barcelona’s advantage before the break, curling a fine effort beyond the goalkeeper. Feyenoord had moments when they threatened to disrupt Barcelona’s rhythm, but the hosts remained firmly in control.

Raphinha then struck again after half-time to put the result beyond reasonable doubt. The Brazilian was at the centre of almost everything dangerous Barcelona produced, combining direct running with the confidence to attack spaces whenever they opened up.

Lamine Yamal added another with a superb free-kick before Feyenoord managed a consolation. There was still time for Barcelona to add a fifth, Gabriel Jesus completing the scoring late in the contest.

For Flick, the result offered more than a comfortable opening-night victory. Barcelona looked aggressive, technically sharp and capable of turning sustained pressure into goals. Their front line moved with purpose, while Raphinha provided the cutting edge that can make the difference when European matches become tight.

Liverpool faced a much more complicated examination at Anfield.

Atlético Madrid silenced the home crowd in the 17th minute when Marcos Llorente continued his remarkable scoring record against Liverpool on Merseyside. Julián Álvarez supplied the pass and Llorente made no mistake, leaving Liverpool with a deficit to overcome.

The response was exactly what Andoni Iraola would have wanted from his team. Liverpool gradually increased the pressure and found their reward five minutes before half-time. Dominik Szoboszlai finished clinically to restore parity and change the mood inside Anfield.

Liverpool then completed the turnaround shortly after the restart. Alexis Mac Allister found the decisive finish with a powerful effort from outside the box, giving the hosts a lead they would not surrender.

Atlético continued to threaten, particularly when Liverpool lost possession in dangerous areas, but the home side defended with increasing composure. The second half belonged largely to Liverpool, who combined energy with greater control and ultimately deserved the victory.

Elsewhere, Paris Saint-Germain began their title defence in spectacular fashion, sweeping aside Slovan Bratislava 6-1. Arsenal also made a winning start, edging Napoli 1-0 in Italy, while Sporting CP defeated Galatasaray 3-1. Stuttgart beat Viking 3-1, with Ermedin Demirović scoring three times in a remarkable first-half spell.

After two nights of the new Champions League campaign, the early picture is already taking shape. Barcelona have announced their attacking credentials in emphatic fashion, while Liverpool have demonstrated that they can survive a scare and still emerge on top.

For both, the most important statistic is simple: three points. But the manner of those victories suggests that there could be plenty more to come.

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Expecting ‘underprepared’ tracks in Japan, India wrist-spinner Varun Chakaravarthy believes spinners could play a pivotal role in the team's upcoming Asian Games campaign, even as he cautioned that unpredictable weather conditions will ultimately dictate how the pitches behave during the tournament.

Chakaravarthy has fully recovered from a Grade 2 left hamstring injury sustained during the T20I series against England, including doing rehab at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. In the Asian Games men’s T20 event, India, the gold medal winners in the last edition in Hangzhou, will begin their campaign from the quarter-final stage in Aichi-Nagoya.

"That's how it has been scheduled, so I don't have any say in that. But definitely every match and every tournament needs preparation, and that we have to do. So it's just like every other tournament – we will prepare well and whatever comes our way, we will take it," Chakaravarthy said in an exclusive interaction with IANS, facilitated by ASICS India.

Assessing the playing conditions at the Korogi Sports Park ahead of the marquee event, Chakaravarthy, who will also be in action for India’s T20Is against Afghanistan and the historic one-off clash against Japan, noted that adaptability will be key for the bowling unit.

"What I've seen is that the pitches might be a little bit underprepared. So it might help spin, but I don't know how the weather in Japan will play a role in the way pitches behave. It can have a big impact as well. We are just preparing for facing all kinds of conditions, and let's see how it goes," he added.

Reflecting on the year so far, which saw him finish as the joint-highest wicket-taker with 14 scalps in India's T20 World Cup triumph on home soil, Chakaravarthy termed it as a ‘rollercoaster’.

"It’s been lovely. I have no complaints at all. It's been a great journey till now and we won the World Cup this time, so everything is going well. I did have one hiccup with my injury, but I'm back. I feel fitter. I've done a lot of strength training and running. Credit goes to the CoE, where I trained a lot," he said.

Chakaravarthy, who also picked up 11 wickets in IPL 2026 while battling through hairline fractures in his left hand and toe, takes pride in his unconventional rise through the ranks.

"I started cricket very late. I started bowling when I was 26 and I played for India when I was 28 and a half. I'm a very late bloomer. It's been seven to eight years in cricket right now and I would say I'm in the first half of my career. There is a long way to go ahead and it's been an unconventional journey till now and I think it's going to be more like that," he reflected.

Speaking on evolving his craft, Chakaravarthy revealed that while he continuously works on adding fresh variations behind the scenes, polishing his existing skill set remains his primary objective.

“Well, it's a combination of both. Obviously, polishing and mastering the skill is always the primary thing and bringing in other variations is always on the back of my mind. I'm also working on certain new variations. When I will be able to master it is a different question, but it's a mix of both.”

Asked how he guards his mystery balls from high-tech cameras and tactical analytics, Chakaravarthy stressed that execution under pressure overrides technology. “As you mentioned, there are no secrets anymore because there are so many video analysts everywhere, and everything that you do is being recorded.

“The only thing is the human touch in cricket, where the batter won't know what I'm going to bowl to them. That has to be decided by me and I don't think any AI or video analyst can predict that. So, that's what we have to play with.”

Rather than plotting long-term milestones in a highly volatile sport, the Chennai-based Chakaravarthy prefers setting incremental targets. “I set more short-term goals rather than long-term goals because I don't think I'll be able to plan for five years down the line, but I'll be able to plan what I want to do in the next six months. I'm that sort of a guy, so I focus more on short-term goals.”

Chakaravarthy signed off by revealing that his association with ASICS began organically years ago even before formally signing up with them. “Long before I signed with ASICS in 2026, I zeroed in on these shoes during the 2022 IPL.

“That's when I started wearing them, and they were among the best I've ever worn out of all the brands out there. So when ASICS approached me, I was ready to cling on to it. It is one of the best performance brands out there, so no complaints.”

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