India, Oct. 3 -- Tilak Varma has evolved as a batter since his breakout on the biggest stage. In recent times, he has become a more complete batter who can do the job in almost all formats of the game. However, when it comes to his task in the Indian T20I team, there is a bit of cruelty attached to it. Varma comes across as a player who likes to get settled in before he switches gears, but the Indian T20I team seldom offers him the freedom to play the kind of innings he wants; it is mostly determined by the situation he comes into.

If we look at his effort in the Asian Games 2026 gold-medal match, we can get a sense of the pressure he walked into and what he delivered. India had a tremendous start in the game after they opted to bat firs...