Tilak Varma

Tilak Varma grew up in the Kukatpally neighbourhood of Hyderabad in a Telugu family. His father, Namboori Nagaraju Varma, worked as an electrician, while his mother, Namboori Gayatri Devi, is a homemaker. His older brother, Tarun Varma, competed nationally in badminton. Money was tight.

Coach Salam Bayash discovered Varma when he was eleven, watching him play tennis-ball cricket in the street. Bayash took charge of his training at Legala Cricket Academy in Lingampally. He drove the young batter more than 40 kilometres each way for practice until the family relocated closer to the grounds. Varma attended Crescent Model English School, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Jubilee Hills, and Lepakshi Junior College before studying business administration at Andhra University.

Varma made his first-class debut for Hyderabad during the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy at age sixteen. T20 and List A debuts followed over the next nine months. In December 2019, selectors picked him for India's squad at the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

In February 2022, Mumbai Indians bought him at the Indian Premier League auction. In his second game for the franchise, he struck 61 runs off 33 deliveries against Rajasthan Royals. Across the tournament, he finished as one of Mumbai's primary middle-order run-scorers. In subsequent seasons, he hit an unbeaten 84 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2023 and a 45-ball century against Gujarat Titans in 2026.

Varma made his senior international debut on 3 August 2023 against the West Indies, top-scoring for India with 39 runs from 22 balls. In the next fixture, he became the second-youngest Indian batter to hit a T20I half-century. That autumn, he won a gold medal with India at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.

In November 2024, Varma hit his maiden T20I hundred against South Africa, posting an unbeaten 107 off 56 balls. He followed it in the next match with 120 not out from 47 deliveries. In the final of the 2025 Asia Cup, he scored 69 runs against Pakistan to earn Player of the Match honours. Returning from surgery ahead of the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup, Varma featured across nine matches as India won the title.