New Delhi: Hyderabad batter Tilak Varma is set to make his English County Championship debut after being approached by Hampshire, the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) announced on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old plays franchise cricket for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League and state cricket for Hyderabad. In international cricket, he has featured in 25 T20Is and four ODIs for India, amassing 749 and 68 runs respectively.
“The Hyderabad Cricket Association is happy to inform that Hyderabad International player Mr. N Thakur Tilak Varma has been approached by the team Hampshire County to play in the UK County Championship League,” HCA said in a release.
“The Hyderabad Cricket Association wishes him a great stint with Hampshire County.”
Varma has represented Hyderabad in 18 First-Class games, scoring 1,204 runs with a highest of 121 at an outstanding average of 50.16, including five hundreds and four fifties.
Varma enjoyed a decent outing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 as the Mumbai Indians reached Qualifier 2. The left-handed batter scored 416 runs in 13 appearances at a decent strike rate of 149.64, scoring eight 30+ knocks, including three fifties.
Varma follows Gaikwad in County cricket
The announcement comes a day after Maharashtra batter Ruturaj Gaikwad signed a deal with Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The Maharashtra batter will play both the County Championship and the One-Day Cup for Yorkshire. When he makes his debut, the 28-year-old batter will become the second player from Maharashtra to feature in County cricket.
Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar represented Yorkshire in the early 90s.
Gaikwad has played six ODIs and 23 T20Is for India. In the IPL, he is the captain of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise. In IPL 2025, Gaikwad could only play just five games for CSK due to an elbow injury.
He toured England after being named in the India A squad for the warm-up matches against England Lions, but spent his time on the bench.
Tilak Varma, who has represented Hyderabad in 18 First-Class games, is set to represent Hampshire in the English County Championship. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
