East Zone's skipper Ishan Kishan has topped the run-scoring charts with 409 runs, including a double hundred. With a lead of 584 runs on the basis of the first innings, East Zone have almost clinched the Duleep Trophy.
"Playing red-ball cricket for India is my biggest goal because I love the format. As a kid, I always thought of representing India in Test cricket first and then in white-ball formats. I am keen to play the longest format, and let's see how things go," said Tilak, as quoted by Cricinfo.
"Red-ball cricket doesn't come naturally to me, but I started my journey in red-ball cricket and played for many years with the red ball. Over the past few seasons, I have been a part of a lot of white-ball matches, but red ball remains my favourite format. It is my A game," he added.
Varma can stay in the middle for a long time, and he faced 250 balls in the Duleep semi-final against North Zone in Bengaluru. He has batted for 250 or more deliveries in an innings twice in his career. He did it for Hampshire in county cricket in 2025 and then in the contest against North Zone. This shows his technique and will to play big innings in the longest format of the game.
"The knock was important for me, but I was thinking more about the team. I could have played more shots, but the plan was to take it session by session. Cricket is a funny game. If you can bat out a session, with another batter staying with you, you can take your team to a strong position. I was confident of taking it session by session and settling for a draw. But we lost wickets, and the result went in East Zone's favour," he added.
He reflected on his team's approach and learnings.
"There have been learnings. We are a young side, and we know how to bounce back. This is what we showed when some of the youngsters were part of India A. We have talented players in the squad, who are eager to win. When you have players with a winning mentality, it becomes easy for a skipper to win tournaments. So leading India A and a team in domestic cricket is a positive thing for me. It will help me in growing as a captain," he mentioned.
"Sometimes conditions are challenging, so the use of players becomes important for a captain. It is important to understand your players off the field. When you spend time with your teammates and know how they think, you come to know who your go-to players under pressure," he concluded.
In 24 first-class matches, Tilak Varma has scored 1729 runs at an average of 55.77, with 8 hundreds and 6 half-centuries. He has played 64 white-ball international matches for India.
