Team India's T20 setup is facing a good kind of headache these days, so many players are firing on all cylinders that picking the final eleven has become a genuine puzzle. That logjam is already the reason 15 year old Vaibhav Suryavanshi hasn't got his debut yet. But amid this crowding, it is Tilak Verma whose place in the side is now being questioned. Tilak is currently batting at number 5 for the T20 side, but his returns haven't matched the faith the team management has shown in him.
Another failure against England
In the first T20 against England, Tilak Verma could only manage 13 runs off 13 balls. Behind that low score lies a bigger worry, his strike rate against spin bowling keeps sliding. The same pattern showed up repeatedly in the IPL too, the moment Tilak walked in to bat, opposition sides would throw the ball to their spinners and the scoring rate would suddenly stall. England captain Harry Brook used the exact same tactic in the first T20 and it worked for him. That vulnerability against spin is fast turning into a real problem for Team India.
What the numbers say about Tilak against spin
Before the England tour, Tilak Verma had scored at a strike rate of just 100 against spin bowlers across 8 innings. His overall T20 strike rate stands at 142.7, but it drops to 126.2 against spin. That gap makes his slot at number 5, a position that demands quick scoring, look like a genuine gamble, especially since this dip in strike rate has shown up specifically while batting at number 5.
A different Tilak at three, four, six and seven
Interestingly, Tilak Verma has batted well at number 3 and number 4. He has also played at number 6 and number 7, where he has taken on the finisher's role, scoring at a strike rate of 200 and closing out matches. He has looked equally good higher up the order too. In other words, the problem seems tied to where he bats, not his overall game.
A tough call awaits the team management
The question now is whether Tilak Verma should be kept at number 5, pushed up the order, or dropped altogether. It isn't an easy decision, because several other players in the squad are consistently delivering strong performances. Under these circumstances, Gautam Gambhir could take the big call of benching Tilak Verma at any moment.
