New Delhi. India may have reached Super-8 while remaining unbeaten in the group stage of T20 World Cup 2026, but everything is still not completely satisfactory for captain Suryakumar Yadav. Some concerns are clearly visible behind the comfortable victories. Abhishek Sharma has not been able to open his account so far, Rinku Singh has been seen struggling against spin and the pace of batting at number 3 has also not been as expected.
Tilak Verma has certainly got good starts and has looked busy at the crease, but this is not the template India usually likes to bat with in T20s. Team India always wants to play in an ultra-aggressive style, whereas Tilak’s strike rate in this tournament has been only 120.45. At the same time, the collective strike rate of the Indian batsmen is 154, which shows that the slow pace of number-3 is slightly affecting the attacking rhythm of the team.
Why did Tilak’s attitude soften?
Against the Netherlands in Ahmedabad, where the Narendra Modi Stadium pitch was considered better for batting, Tilak’s innings of 31 runs off 27 balls looked a bit lackluster. He hit three fours and one six and his strike rate was 114.81. In four matches of T20 World Cup 2026, Tilak has scored 106 runs at an average of 26.50. His strike rate of 120 is becoming a matter of concern in this format and he has faced 88 balls, hit 11 fours and three sixes, and scored 25 runs each in three consecutive innings before scoring 31 runs. For a player batting at number 3 in T20, such figures can put pressure on other batsmen. Before the injury, his strike rate at number 3 was around 145, so the drop of about 20 points is quite surprising.
Irfan Pathan advised change
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan openly expressed his opinion on this issue. He believes that Tilak’s restrained play on a slow pitch against Pakistan was understandable, but more aggressive batting was expected from him against the Netherlands, which was not seen. Awareness and responsibility were visible in the way he was batting in Sri Lanka. Ishan Kishan was scoring runs fast, so Tilak was playing at a strike rate of around 100 so as not to lose his wicket but in Ahmedabad I was expecting more from him. The pitch was better, so his strike rate should have been better and this is an aspect on which he has to focus.
break left hand sequence
However, Pathan’s biggest concern is the composition of the team, with Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Verma being the three consecutive left-handed batsmen. Against Pakistan in Colombo, part-timer Salman Ali Aga took advantage of this combination, while against the Netherlands, Aryan Dutt controlled the powerplay. Pathan believes that this pattern can create problems for India in tough matches. South Africa can use Aiden Markram, West Indies have Roston Chase and Zimbabwe have options like Sikandar Raza.
Captain should play at number three
Pathan further said that this combination can put pressure on India in big matches, especially knockout matches. He suggested that to break this sequence of left-handers, Suryakumar Yadav can be sent to number-3 and Tilak Verma can be shifted to number-4. According to him, if not on a pitch like Ahmedabad, then on a venue like Sri Lanka, where the ball grips more, this tactical change should definitely be considered.
Tilak Verma’s statistics in T20 International
Batting at number 3: 19 innings, 648 runs, highest score 120*, average 49.84, strike rate 152.47, 2 centuries, 3 half-centuries, 57 fours, 35 sixes.
Batting at number-4: 14 innings, 490 runs, highest score 69*, average 54.44, strike rate 128.60, 0 century, 2 half-centuries, 36 fours, 21 sixes.