Live Update: Tilak Varma talks about being Vice President and shares lessons learned from Rohit Sharma. The 23-year-old talks about his new role under Shreyas Iyer and how he observes Rohit Sharma’s tactical proach to bowler selection and field management.
Tilak Varma talks about his role as vice-ctain and reveals lessons from Rohit Sharma (Source: BCCI) Indian left-handed batsman Tilak Varma has been named as the vice-ctain of the Indian T20I team led by Shreyas Iyer. The 23-year-old left-handed batsman was included in the 16-member Indian T20I squad announced on Tuesday (October 6) for the upcoming tour of New Zealand. The five-match series against New Zealand begins on October 22 at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
Varma spoke about his new role and the lessons he learned from shadowing leaders. The left-hander, who made his T20I debut against West Indies on August 3, 2023, reflected on the responsibility that comes with being a vice-president and how he learns control skills from those around him. “First of all, it is a responsibility.
So people see you differently than before, like you’re a little older. Only if you have done something will you receive the vice presidency; They won’t give it away like that. So I feel like with that comes a little more responsibility, especially off the field.
On the field, the ctain will take care of things,” Varma told JioStar. “Of course it’s your turn if he’s not there. So I continue to share my thoughts with Shreyas.
As far as the rest of the team atmosphere, conversations off the field and the mindset of the players, players in a team sport have ups and downs, so I look at how you interact with the kids and where everyone is at. I am looking at all this and if I get a chance on the field, I will use my brain too,” he added. Varma has represented Hyderabad in domestic cricket and plays for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.
His last T20I pearance was on September 17, 2026 against Afghanistan. Thanks to his commitment to the Indian team and franchise, the batsman had the opportunity to observe incarceration from close quarters. Learning fielding tactics from Rohit Sharma Varma explained that he played under the ctaincy of Rohit Sharma for both Mumbai Indians and the Indian team.
He did not play under the leadership of Virat Kohli. The young batsman is particularly inspired by his observations on Rohit Sharma’s tactical proach and field management during matches. “I have not played under the ctaincy of Virat Bhai, but I have played under the ctaincy of Rohit Bhai, both in MI and in the Indian team.
So I learned a lot from him. On the ground the intensity is very high; There’s so much going through your head when you’re there that you can only take in so much. So when I am not on the field, I discuss a lot of things with him,” Varma noted.
“And when Rohit Bhai and Virat Bhai played, I was not in the starting XI. So when I sat outside, I watched which bowler Rohit Bhai brought in when and how he used the bowlers. All these things I observed in him before and now, when I was on the pitch, I integrated them into my own proach,” he concluded.
Varma’s proach to learning mastery reflects his willingness to absorb tactical knowledge from various situations. Whether on the field or outside the playing eleven, he focused on understanding the timing and usage patterns of bowler selection. This observation-based learning has changed the way he now proaches his own role within the team structure.
