Tilak Varma returns as BCCI announces India A squad for T20 World Cup warm-ups

BCCI has announced a 15-player squad for the two T20 World Cup warm-up games against the USA and Namibia. The squad will be led by Ayush Badoni and marks the return of Tilak Varma.

BCCI has specified that Tilak will feature in one of the warm-up games before joining Team India's squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. However, India's apex cricketing governing body has not specified the fixture that would mark Tilak's return.

Tilak had undergone testicular surgery in Rajkot during the Vijay Hazare Trophy in January and has resumed his training at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. Tilak is integral to India's T20 World Cup defence as he boasts a stellar record in the shortest format of the game.

The southpaw has aggregated 1183 runs in 40 games at an average of 49.29 and a strike rate of 144.09, with the help of two hundreds and six fifties. He aggregated 187 runs in four T20Is against South Africa at home and finished as the leading run-getter at an average of 62.33 and a strike rate of 131.69, including two half-centuries.

He had also scored a tenacious half-century in a winning cause in the final of the ACC Asia Cup 2025 against arch-rivals Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the India A squad comprises several names who represented the country at the Asia Cup Rising Stars in Qatar. Priyansh Arya, Gurjapneet Singh, Naman Dhir, and Ashutosh Sharma are the four players who were a part of that multi-nation tournament.

India A squad for T20 World Cup warm-ups:

Ayush Badoni (c), Naman Dhir, Ashutosh Sharma, Priyansh Arya, N Jagadeesan (wk), Tilak Varma, Riyan Parag, Manav Suthar, Ashok Sharma, Urvil Patel (wk), Gurjapneet Singh, Vipraj Nigam, Ravi Bishnoi, Khaleel Ahmed, Mayank Yadav