India batter Tilak Varma recently visited the Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple to seek divine blessings. He was accompanied by BCCI Apex Council member and former first-class cricketer V. Chamundeswaranath.
Blessings at the Temple
During their visit on Vaikunta Ekadasi, they offered prayers and had darshan of Lord Venkateswara, passing through the sacred Vaikunta Dwaram. Officials from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams made special arrangements for their darshan and facilitated their visit to the hill shrine.
A Good Omen for the T20 World Cup
As India aims to defend its T20 World Cup title, Tilak’s visit to Tirupati might serve as a lucky charm in what is expected to be an intense and closely contested tournament. Earlier in August this year, he also visited the shrine before the ACC Asia Cup, where his crucial 69-run innings helped India secure a victory against arch-rivals Pakistan in the final.
Recent Performances
Tilak’s latest performance for India was during the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa, where he played a key role in leading the Men in Blue to a 3-1 series victory over the Proteas. In the T20I series opener against South Africa earlier this month, he made history by becoming the first Indian batter to score 1000 runs in T20Is before turning 25, accumulating scores of 26, 62, 26, and 73 throughout the series.
Upcoming Action
The 23-year-old batter will next be in action in the T20I series against New Zealand, starting on January 21. These matches will serve as a preparatory series for both teams before the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to begin on February 7.
India’s T20 World Cup and New Zealand T20 Series Squad
India will enter the T20 World Cup as defending champions, having won the 2024 edition in Barbados by defeating South Africa in the final. The squad for the T20 World Cup and the New Zealand T20 series includes:
- Suryakumar Yadav (captain)
- Abhishek Sharma
- Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper)
- Tilak Varma
- Hardik Pandya
- Shivam Dubey
- Axar Patel (vice-captain)
- Rinku Singh
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Harshit Rana
- Arshdeep Singh
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Varun Chakravarthy
- Washington Sundar
- Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper)