Gwalior, Oct 5
Left-handed batter Tilak Varma has been named as a replacement for injured all-rounder Shivam Dube in India’s squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
In a statement, the BCCI said Dube is ruled out of the T20I series owing to a back injury, with the Senior Men’s Selection Committee naming Tilak, who’s earned 16 caps in the format so far, as his replacement. Dube had been a member of the Indian team winning this year’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies.
BCCI added that Hyderabad-based Tilak, who plays for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, will link up with the Indian squad in Gwalior on Sunday morning, ahead of the first T20I to be played at the Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior in the evening.
Tilak made his T20I debut against West Indies at Tarouba in 2023, where he impressed everyone with his scintillating stroke play. He made his ODI debut later in the year, and last played T20Is in the home series against Afghanistan earlier this year.
But Tilak picked up hand injuries after playing in IPL 2024 for Mumbai Indians and recovered from it before returning to action via the Duleep Trophy, where he played two games for India A and amassed scores of 10, 111 not out, 5 and 19.
India return to playing the T20I format after beating Sri Lanka 3-0 in Pallekele in July under new skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s full-time leadership stint. Following the first game at Gwalior, India and Bangladesh will play the second and third matches in New Delhi and Hyderabad on October 9 and 12 respectively.
India’s updated squad for the T20I series against Bangladesh:
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav, Tilak Varma