Tilak Verma says he can't be without a bat and visualises big matches to stay focused, a habit that helped him during his injury recovery. He has returned to the Indian team for the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026.
India's star batter Tilak Verma on Wednesday said he can't go even a couple of days without a bat, feeling like he's in a "different world".
Visualising success: A childhood habit
Varma further said he visualises big-match pressure, even a World Cup final, a habit from childhood, which helped him stay in the zone, focused on winning matches. "First of all, if I have to sit for a couple of days without a bat in my hands, I feel very strange. It feels like I'm in a different world. Every night before sleeping, I visualise playing in big matches, even the World Cup final, and putting myself under pressure. It's a habit from childhood. I've been playing for so many years that these thoughts come naturally before I sleep. So I don't worry about breaks. My mind stays in the same positive zone. I keep preparing mentally. I didn't feel like I was out of the game because of injury. I stayed in the zone, focused on winning matches, and reacted to the situations when I returned," Varma said.
Successful comeback from injury
Varma recently suffered a testicular injury and underwent successful surgery, and was recovering at BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE). He made a much-anticipated comeback to the Indian team in the T20 WC warm-up match against the Proteas earlier this month.
T20 World Cup 2026 Campaign
Defending champions India will play their second group-stage match against Namibia on Thursday at the T20 World Cup 2026. After winning the first match, India tops Group A and will be aiming for another victory at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
The Indian team defeated the USA by 29 runs, with skipper Suryakumar Yadav remaining unbeaten on 84 from 49 balls. After Namibia, India is scheduled to play the much-anticipated World Cup match against Pakistan in Colombo on February 15, before travelling to Ahmedabad for their final group-stage clash against the Netherlands on February 18.
Indian Squad
Indian squad: Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Verma, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Shivam Dubey, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakraborty, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar. (ANI)
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