Tilak says his biggest goal is to play Test cricket.
| Photo Credit: R. RAGU
Skipper Tilak Varma has been the standout player for South Zone in the Duleep Trophy this year.
The Hyderabad batter was instrumental in taking the team to the final, leading from the front with unbeaten knocks of 116 and 51 in the semifinal against North.
In the summit clash, Tilak yet again stood tall, scoring a valiant 99 against East Zone, even if he couldn’t help his team avoid conceding a huge lead.
“It’s an important knock, but at the same time I was only focused on what the team needed. I could have taken more chances before, but the plan was simply to take it session by session,” said Tilak.
“If some other batter stayed with me, I was confident we [could] have batted through to the end of the day, [and] take it session-by-session till tomorrow and push for a draw. Unfortunately, we lost wickets, and the result went in their favour,” he added.
“A hundred would have been a nice reward for the hard yards I put in the heat, but individual milestones don’t matter as much as the result.”
Though the 23-year-old has quickly been elevated as vice-captain of the T20I side, he reiterated that Test cricket is his ultimate goal.
“I always say to everyone that I want to play red-ball cricket for India. That’s my biggest goal because I really love playing red-ball cricket. As a kid, I thought I’d play Test cricket first and then only white-ball cricket. I’m really keen to play red-ball cricket, and let’s see how it goes,” said Tilak.
Published – September 09, 2026 07:05 pm IST
