IND vs SA: 'Just be calm, take a few balls' - Tilak Varma advises struggling Suryakumar Yadav

AHMEDABAD: Even as he endured the worst year of his international career-finishing 2025 without a single fifty in T20Is- India's T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav was provided with some valuable advice to "just middle a few balls and stay calm" by his India and Mumbai Indians teammate Tilak Varma during the fifth T20I against South Africa on Friday night at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Giving Team India's thinktank plenty of headache going into the 2026 T20 World Cup in Feb-March in India and Sri Lanka, SKY ended a miserable year for him with the bat with another single-digit score-being caught at mid-off off Corbin Bosch for five off seven balls,



On the other hand, making a solid case to be penned in as India's undisputed No 3 for the mega tournament, Tilak smashed a 42-ball 73 and added 105 in just 44 balls with allrounder Hardik Pandya (63) for the fourth wicket to power India to 231 for five as India won by 30 runs. SKY was the only Indian batsman who missed out on feasting on the South African bowling on the batting paradise.

Asked on what exactly was he telling SKY while batting with him for a brief period, Tilak shared at the post match press conference, "I was just saying (to him) that just middle a few balls, just wait and just be calm and take a few balls Oto get in). If (the) team wants I can get going from the other side, (but) you just be on the crease and take some time. Take feel of middle of the bat, that's what I was talking to him."

Tilak feels that the out-of-form Mumbai batter "needs just one innings" to rediscover his mojo.

"If he gets that confidence then he will be... everyone has watched him, how he can play, so I think at this time if he takes a few balls at that moment, I would not say (to him to) just (try) going over the fielder. But I was just saying (to him) that try finding the gaps. If you can pierce the field well from your bat, you get a good feel about it and after that you are going to hit. It was not his day, but everyone is waiting for that one innings, if he gets that one innings then everyone knows how dangerous he can be," Tilak added.

Suryakumar's numbers in T20Is in 2025-it's the only format in which he represents India bear a sorry look-all he has managed to score is 218 runs in 19 innings at 13.62.

Describing his own approach while unleashing a stroke-filled fifty, Tilak, who smashed a four off the first ball he faced, from Corbin Bosch to extra cover, said, "I had seen the first few overs the way Abhishek and Sanju batted, so it had been a good wicket, so I just want to get going right from the first ball. I just want to finish the game and play according to the situation. If the team needs to bat at the highest strike rate, then I will do that, (and) if the team wants me to just finish the game, then I will play like that," he said.

Tilak said Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy, who shared six wickets between them while conceding 67 runs in eight overs on Friday to break the back of SA's batting, are India's go-to bowlers in the format. "Compared to the other fast bowlers, everyone knows that Jasprit has that extra (sting) in his bowling. The same way, I would also say that Varun has that extra something in his bowling, (with) which he can take wickets anytime. These two bowlers are go-to bowlers whenever the team needs a wicket, they will do that and that's what Varun has shown in the whole series, especially today when we were under pressure, he took that two wickets in an over," he praised.

"The way Varun is doing consistently for the team, (it) is good to watch and that's what makes him a world No 1 T20 bowler, so he is high in confidence (and) touch wood he should be doing that till the World Cup," Tilak added.



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