Very few cricketers can say they hold a record that no one else in their format has achieved. Tilak Varma is one of those rare players. He is the only batter in men’s T20 International cricket to score three centuries in a row, and all three were unbeaten. This special record, along with the second-highest batting average in the format’s history among players with at least 20 innings, shows the level of skill and consistency that defines Tilak Varma.
Tilak Varma is 23 years old and a left handed batter. He plays for Mumbai Indians in the IPL and represents Hyderabad in domestic cricket. His journey to the top is inspiring. He grew up in a working class family in the Kukatpally area of Hyderabad. During his early cricket days, his family struggled financially. His coach supported him by paying for his cricket equipment and travel because his father could not afford the expenses.
Since making his international debut for India in August 2023, Tilak Varma has played 48 T20 Internationals. He was part of the Indian team that won the T20 World Cup in 2026. He also received the Player of the Match award in an Asia Cup final against Pakistan. In domestic cricket, he was appointed captain of South Zone for the Duleep Trophy.
In 2022, Rohit Sharma said that Tilak Varma would become an all-format player for India. By 2025, that prediction already looked modest because of how quickly he was progressing in international cricket.
PERSONAL PROFILE AT A GLANCE
| Full Name | Namboori Thakur Tilak Varma |
| Date of Birth | 8 November 2002 |
| Birthplace | Kukatpally, Hyderabad, Telangana, India |
| Age (March 2026) | 23 years |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Father | Namboori Nagaraju Varma — electrician; hails from Medchal, Telangana |
| Mother | Namboori Gayatri Devi — homemaker; hails from Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh |
| Brother | N Tarun Varma (elder brother) |
| First Coach | Salam Bayash — trained him at Legala Cricket Academy, Lingampally |
| Batting Style | Left-handed |
| Bowling Style | Right-arm off-break (part-time) |
| Role | Left-hand middle-order batter |
| Domestic Team | Hyderabad |
| IPL Team (2025 and 2026) | Mumbai Indians — retained for Rs 8 crore ahead of IPL 2025 |
| IPL Debut | 26 March 2022 — Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals, Wankhede Stadium |
| T20I Debut | 3 August 2023 — India vs West Indies, Tarouba, Trinidad |
| ODI Debut | 2023 Asia Cup — India vs Bangladesh (Super Four), Colombo |
| Jersey Numbers | 72 (India); 9 (Mumbai Indians) |
| ICC T20I Batting Ranking | Consistently top-10 since 2024; second-highest T20I batting average of all time: 48.75 (min. 20 innings) |
| Unique Record | Only batter in T20I history to score three consecutive centuries (all unbeaten): Nov-Dec 2024 |
| Asia Cup 2025 Final | 69* vs Pakistan — Player of the Match; India won by 5 wickets |
| BCCI Contract | Grade C — Rs 1 crore annual retainer |
| Asian Games 2022 | Gold medal winner with India |
| Duleep Trophy (2025-26) | Appointed captain of South Zone |
| Net Worth (est.) | Approx. Rs 20-25 crore |
Early Life and Background
Namboori Thakur Tilak Varma was born on 8 November 2002 in Kukatpally, a busy residential area in the north west of Hyderabad. He comes from a Telugu family. His father, Namboori Nagaraju Varma, works as an electrician and is from Medchal in Telangana. His mother, Namboori Gayatri Devi, is a homemaker and is from Bhimavaram in Andhra Pradesh. Tilak Varma also has an elder brother named N Tarun Varma.
Tilak Varma grew up in a family with limited financial resources. His father worked as an electrician and earned enough to support the family’s basic needs, but there was little money for professional cricket training. In India, proper coaching, cricket equipment, travel, and academy fees can be expensive, and these costs made it difficult for Tilak to pursue the sport seriously in his early years.
The turning point came when his coach, Salam Bayash, noticed him playing tennis ball cricket when he was 11 years old. Bayash, who ran the Legala Cricket Academy in Lingampally in Hyderabad, immediately saw strong potential in the young left handed batter. He decided to train Tilak without charging any fees.
Bayash also helped in other important ways. Tilak lived more than 40 kilometres away from the academy, which made daily training difficult. His coach arranged transport for the long trip between Tilak’s home and the academy every day. This support continued until Tilak’s family was able to move closer to the training ground.
“He was spotted playing tennis-ball cricket. I knew immediately he was different. The timing, the way he moved — it was natural. I couldn’t let that go to waste just because the family didn’t have money.” — Salam Bayash, on first spotting Tilak Varma
It is a story that Tilak returns to repeatedly in interviews, always with visible gratitude. The investment Bayash made in him, financially and personally, shaped not just his cricket but his sense of obligation to the game and to the people who invest in young players.
The family lived at Chandrayan Gutta in Hyderabad, and Tilak’s early life was structured around school and cricket with little time for much else. He was wholly focused on the game from his early teenage years, committing to the discipline of daily practice even when comfort was in short supply.
Youth Cricket and Under-19 Career
Tilak Varma represented Hyderabad at age-group level from his early teens, making his mark through consistent run-scoring in youth tournaments. A year after his first-class debut for Hyderabad in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy season at just 16 years old, he was selected to represent India in the 2020 ICC Under-19 World Cup held in South Africa.
He played all six matches in India’s run to the final, scoring 86 runs across three innings. India finished as runners-up in that tournament, beaten in the final, but the campaign gave Tilak exposure to international competitive cricket at the youth level that proved formative. Teammates and coaching staff noted his composure in difficult situations, an attribute that would later become the defining quality of his batting.
He was also part of the Indian team that won the gold medal at the Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou, one of the first significant international honours of his career at the senior level.
Domestic Cricket Career
First-Class Debut for Hyderabad
Tilak Varma made his first-class debut for Hyderabad against Andhra Pradesh in December 2018, when he was 16 years old. He has since accumulated over 1,200 runs in 20-plus first-class matches at a remarkable average of 50.42 with four centuries. His List-A record is even more impressive: 1,548 runs across 39 matches at an average of 45.52 with five centuries, including a personal best of 156 not out.
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Record
In the 2024 to 25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Tilak Varma played one of the most remarkable innings in the history of the tournament. He scored 151 runs against Meghalaya, which became the highest individual score ever recorded in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The innings showed his ability as a left handed batter who was fully in control of his game and able to dominate a bowling attack that struggled to stop him.
Earlier, the 2021 to 22 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season played an important role in his rise to the IPL. During that tournament, he scored 215 runs in seven innings and finished as Hyderabad’s second highest run scorer. He maintained a strike rate of 147.26. His strong performances caught the attention of Mumbai Indians, who signed him in the following IPL auction.
Vijay Hazare Trophy
In List A cricket, Tilak Varma has been one of Hyderabad’s most dependable players in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He usually bats in the middle order and understands the match situation well. He adjusts his approach based on the stage of the innings. He plays carefully during the middle overs and becomes more aggressive in the final ten overs. Because of this ability, he has become one of Hyderabad’s most important batters in the 50-over format, alongside the team’s more experienced senior players.
Duleep Trophy Leadership
In the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy, Tilak Varma was appointed captain of the South Zone team. This role showed his growing importance in the domestic cricket system. It also showed that selectors trusted his ability to lead a team that included several experienced players.
Being given captaincy at this level is an important step for many players in Indian cricket. In the past, it has often been seen as a sign that a player could be considered for bigger leadership roles in the national team in the future.
Indian Premier League Career
Mumbai Indians Debut: IPL 2022
At the IPL 2022 mega auction, Mumbai Indians signed Tilak Varma for Rs 1.70 crore. This was eight and a half times higher than his base price and showed that several teams were interested in him. He made his IPL debut on 26 March 2022 against Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium. In only his second match, against Rajasthan Royals, he showed his talent by scoring 61 runs from 33 balls.
Tilak played all 14 matches in his first IPL season. He scored 397 runs with an average of 36.09 and a strike rate of 131.02. Mumbai Indians had a difficult season and finished last on the points table. Even in that challenging campaign, the young batter from Hyderabad was one of the few consistent performers for the team. His performances quickly increased his importance within the franchise.
In 2022, when Tilak was only 19 years old, Rohit Sharma made a strong statement about his future. He said that Tilak would become an all format player for India. Coming from India’s Test captain and one of the most experienced players in the team, this was a very significant endorsement.
IPL 2023:The Leap
The 2023 season represented a significant uplift in both his strike rate and his confidence. He scored 343 runs from 11 matches at an average of 42.87 and a strike rate of 164.11 — a near-25% increase in scoring speed from his debut season. His most memorable knock of that campaign was 84 off 46 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first MI match of the season, and he then produced a remarkable cameo of 43 off 14 balls in the playoff match against Gujarat Titans, the innings that, more than any other, confirmed he had the temperament for big occasions.
IPL 2024 :Consistent and Retained
Tilak added 416 runs from 14 matches in IPL 2024 at a strike rate of 149.64 with three half-centuries, continuing the upward trajectory of his aggregate while slightly consolidating his scoring rate as he matured into a more considered middle-order batter. Mumbai Indians retained him ahead of the 2025 IPL season for Rs 8 crore — nearly five times what they paid for him two years earlier — confirming his status as one of the franchise’s core batting assets.
International Cricket Career
T20I Debut : August 2023, Trinidad
Tilak Varma made his T20I debut for India on 3 August 2023 against the West Indies at Tarouba, Trinidad. He top-scored for India with 39 off 22 balls, taking two catches as well, in a match India lost narrowly by four runs. In the second T20I of the same series, he scored his first international half-century, becoming the second-youngest Indian to score a fifty in men’s T20I cricket.
His ODI debut followed during the Asia Cup 2023 when he was drafted into the side for the Super Four match against Bangladesh in Colombo. He has since played five ODIs, with a highest score of 52, and his ODI record, while still early in its development, shows a batter who can adapt to the 50-over format when called upon.
The Three Consecutive T20I Centuries :History Made
The period from November to December 2024 is when Tilak Varma wrote his name into the record books in a way that no other batter has managed in the history of men’s T20 International cricket. He scored three consecutive T20I centuries, all of them unbeaten. No batter before him had scored three consecutive hundreds in T20 Internationals, let alone three consecutive unbeaten hundreds. The feat was all the more extraordinary because it was achieved across two different opponent series under two different bowling attacks.
The innings confirmed what the IPL had suggested for two full seasons: Tilak Varma’s batting was not merely good, it was historically unusual. A career T20I average of 45.36 across 48 matches places him second in the all-time T20I batting average chart among batters with sufficient innings. He also bats with a kind of composure under pressure that analysts and former international cricketers have compared to the best Indian middle-order batters of previous generations.
Asia Cup T20 2025 Final: Player of the Match vs Pakistan
The Asia Cup T20 2025 final against Pakistan was the high-water mark of Tilak Varma’s international career to that point. India were chasing a competitive target and needed someone to anchor the chase through the middle overs. Tilak came in and scored a composed, unbeaten 69 off a measured number of deliveries to guide India to a five-wicket victory and the Asia Cup title. He was named Player of the Match — his most significant individual award in international cricket.
T20 World Cup 2026
Tilak Varma was part of India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2026 hosted in India and Sri Lanka. He contributed across the tournament’s middle and later stages under Suryakumar Yadav‘s captaincy, including a role in the knockout matches as India’s settled left-handed middle-order anchor. India won the T20 World Cup 2026 by defeating New Zealand by 96 runs in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, becoming the first team in history to defend the T20 World Cup title. Tilak scored 21 off 7 balls in the final, contributing to India’s total of 255 for 5.
Playing Style and Strengths
The phrase that comes up most consistently when coaches and analysts discuss Tilak Varma’s batting is clean contact. He hits the ball with the full face of the bat, keeps his head still at the point of impact, and generates his power through excellent timing rather than brute strength. This produces the kind of batting that looks unhurried even when the scoring rate is high, which is the characteristic that most consistently identifies elite T20 batters.
As a left-hander, he creates naturally awkward angles for right-arm bowlers bowling into the stumps. He plays particularly well through the off side, with a cover drive and a straight drive that are models of proper technique. His leg-side play is equally strong, using his wrists to whip through mid-wicket in a way that is distinctive in Indian middle-order batting. He also has an excellent eye for the short ball, pulling with confidence from early in his innings.
His temperament is a recurring theme in assessments of his batting. In high-pressure situations, including T20I finals, playoff knockouts, and India versus Pakistan matches at neutral venues, he has consistently produced his best performances. This is the rarest quality in the batting game: the ability to play better when the stakes are higher rather than worse.
His off-break bowling is used sparingly at the highest level but provides a useful additional option for his captain in T20 cricket. His fielding is athletic and he is a reliable presence in the inner ring, with strong hands and good awareness in the field.
Major Records and Achievements
1. Only batter in men’s T20I history to score three consecutive centuries, all three unbeaten — achieved November to December 2024
2. Second-highest batting average in T20 International history (minimum 20 innings): 45.36
3. Highest individual score in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy history: 151 vs Meghalaya, 2024-25 season
4. Asia Cup T20 2025 final: 69* vs Pakistan — Player of the Match, India won the tournament
5. T20 World Cup 2026 winner with India
6. Asian Games 2022 gold medal with India
7. Second-youngest Indian to score a T20I fifty: achieved in his second T20I, West Indies tour August 2023
8. Retained by Mumbai Indians for Rs 8 crore ahead of IPL 2025 — nearly five times the Rs 1.70 crore MI paid at the 2022 auction
9. IPL 2022 debut season: 397 runs at an average of 36.09 — all 14 matches played, consistent throughout a difficult team campaign
10. IPL 2023: 343 runs at an average of 42.87 and a strike rate of 164.11 — including 84 off 46 balls vs RCB and 43 off 14 balls in a playoff
11. Appointed captain of South Zone for the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy
12. List-A best score: 156 not out; five List-A centuries across 39 matches at an average of 45.52
13. First-class average of 50.42 across 20-plus matches with four centuries — confirming red-ball quality alongside white-ball excellence
Career Statistics Overview
| Format | Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s / 50s |
| T20 Internationals | 48 | 46 | 1,382 | 45.36 | ~155 | 3 / 8 |
| ODIs | 5 | 5 | 68 | 22.66 | ~92 | 0 / 1 |
| First Class (all) | 20+ | 30+ | 1,200+ | 50.42 | — | 4 / 5 |
| List-A (all) | 39 | 37 | 1,548 | 45.52 | ~102 | 5 / 8 |
| SMAT 2024-25 best | 10 | 9 | 485+ | ~60 | ~155 | 2 (incl. 151 vs Meghalaya) |
| IPL 2022 (debut) | 14 | 13 | 397 | 36.09 | 131.02 | 0 / 3 |
| IPL 2023 | 11 | 10 | 343 | 42.87 | 164.11 | 0 / 3 |
| IPL 2024 | 14 | 13 | 416 | ~38 | 149.64 | 0 / 3 |
These numbers show the consistent quality that has made Tilak Varma one of the most interesting stories in Indian cricket since 2022. His T20I batting average of 45.36 across 48 matches is not the result of a short run of good innings. It reflects steady performance over two years of regular international cricket against many different opponents.
His IPL record over three seasons also shows clear progress. His strike rate has improved while he has continued to score runs regularly. This kind of development is exactly what teams hope to see from a young middle order batter.
His domestic record also supports his international success. With averages above 45 across all three formats in domestic cricket, his performances for India do not look unusual or unexpected. Instead, they reflect the natural standard of his batting.
Personal Life
Tilak Varma lives with his family in their home at Chandrayan Gutta, Hyderabad. Despite his rapid rise in Indian and IPL cricket, he is known for maintaining a grounded personality and a close relationship with his family. His father, who worked as an electrician during his formative years, and his mother remain closely connected to his career, and he has spoken warmly about their support and sacrifices in interviews.
Tilak Varma owns luxury cars such as a BMW 7 Series and a Mercedes Benz S Class. These purchases show how much his financial situation has improved through his IPL contract and international cricket earnings. His family once struggled to afford basic cricket equipment during his early years.
He also holds a Grade C central contract with the BCCI, which pays him Rs 1 crore each year. This contract adds financial stability along with the income he earns from the IPL and playing for the Indian national team.
As of early 2026, Tilak Varma is not in a public relationship and has focused entirely on his cricket career. He is active on social media and maintains a connection with his growing fan base, which has expanded significantly since his record-breaking T20I century sequence in late 2024.
His idol list includes the great left-handed Indian batters who preceded him, and his coach Salam Bayash remains a figure he publicly acknowledges at every opportunity. The loyalty to the person who made his career possible when the family could not is a characteristic that has endeared him to fans well beyond cricket circles.
Future Prospects
At 23 years old, Tilak Varma’s international career is still very young. He has played for India for only about two years, but he has already achieved records that many players take much longer to reach. The main question for Indian selectors now is not whether he belongs in the T20I team. His three consecutive unbeaten centuries have already settled that discussion. The bigger question is whether his role in ODI cricket should grow beyond the five matches he has played so far.
His List A average of 45.52 shows that he has the ability to succeed in the 50 over format. He is comfortable batting during the middle overs and can build an innings while also accelerating later when needed. These qualities suggest that he could have a strong ODI career.
With the 2027 ODI World Cup approaching, India has several years to develop a stable batting lineup. Recent comments from selectors indicate that Tilak Varma is one of the players being considered as a long term option for the team in this format.
Test cricket is a longer horizon. His first-class average above 50 for Hyderabad, and his Duleep Trophy captaincy of South Zone in 2025-26, are signals that the domestic establishment considers him a genuine red-ball prospect. Rohit Sharma’s 2022 prediction about him becoming an all-format India player may have been early, but it was not wrong.
In the IPL, his role at Mumbai Indians as the left-handed anchor in the middle order is settled, and his retention at Rs 8 crore ahead of 2025 gives him the security and the mandate to continue developing at that level. The three consecutive T20I centuries set a record that will stand for a considerable time. His task now is to build a career around them.
Conclusion
The Tilak Varma biography begins in a modest household in Kukatpally, Hyderabad, where a cricket-obsessed boy was spotted playing tennis-ball cricket by a coach who paid for his fees, kit, and transport because the family could not. It runs through an Under-19 World Cup final, a first-class debut at 16, a Rs 1.70-crore IPL auction purchase, and then accelerates rapidly into one of the most statistically unusual T20 International careers in the format’s history.
He holds the record for three consecutive T20I centuries. He has the second-highest T20I batting average in history. He scored the Player of the Match innings in an Asia Cup final against Pakistan. He holds the highest individual score in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy history. He is a T20 World Cup champion. He captains South Zone in the Duleep Trophy.
The complete Tilak Varma biography is still in its early chapters. But the chapters that have been written already contain more than many careers ever accumulate. He is the most naturally gifted young left-handed batter India has produced in this century, and there is every reason to believe his best cricket is still ahead of him.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Tilak Varma?
Tilak Varma is an Indian international cricketer born on 8 November 2002 in Hyderabad. His full name is Namboori Thakur Tilak Varma. He is a left-handed middle-order batsman and occasional right-arm off-break bowler who represents Hyderabad in domestic cricket and Mumbai Indians in the IPL. He made his T20I debut in August 2023 against the West Indies and holds the unique distinction of being the only batter in men’s T20I history to score three consecutive centuries, all three unbeaten. He is also the holder of the second-highest batting average in T20I history.
What is Tilak Varma’s age?
Tilak Varma was born on 8 November 2002, making him 23 years old as of March 2026. He is one of the youngest players to hold the T20I records he has achieved, and is considered to be at the very beginning of what analysts expect to be one of the most significant batting careers in Indian cricket over the next decade.
Which IPL team does Tilak Varma play for?
Tilak Varma plays for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. He was first acquired by MI at the 2022 IPL mega auction for Rs 1.70 crore and was retained by the franchise for Rs 8 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 season. He wears jersey number 9 for Mumbai Indians and has been a first-choice middle-order batter for the franchise since his debut season in 2022.
When did Tilak Varma debut for India?
Tilak Varma made his senior international debut for India on 3 August 2023 in a T20 International against the West Indies at Tarouba, Trinidad. He scored 39 off 22 balls and took two catches on debut. In his second T20I, he scored his first international fifty, becoming the second-youngest Indian to score a fifty in men’s T20I cricket. His ODI debut came later in 2023 during the Asia Cup Super Four match against Bangladesh in Colombo.
Where is Tilak Varma from?
Tilak Varma is from Hyderabad, Telangana. He was born and raised in the Kukatpally neighbourhood of Hyderabad and later lived in the Chandrayan Gutta area of the city. He represents Hyderabad in domestic cricket. His father is from Medchal, Telangana, and his mother is from Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh. He was spotted playing cricket in Hyderabad at the age of 11 by his coach Salam Bayash, who trained him at the Legala Cricket Academy in Lingampally.