After the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) win in their IPL 2026 match against the Gujarat Titans (GT), former India player turned commentator Aakash Chopra has predicted that Tilak Varma would lead an Indian Premier League franchise within the next two years as well. He also applauded the MI batter for scoring the joint-fastest hundred when they were in a spot of bother. However, Tilak smashed an unbeaten 101 off 45 deliveries as MI set GT a 200-run target. MI then bowled out the home team for 100 to register a convincing 99-run win.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “Tilak Varma defeated the Gujarat Titans by one run. He scored 101 and the entire Gujarat team collapsed for 100. I feel the day is not far when he will captain an IPL franchise. You might wonder how someone can become the captain by playing one inning, but two years from now, and it might happen earlier than that, Tilak Varma will be leading an IPL franchise. That is my understanding. I can explain it more at that time.”
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“He scored 19 runs in the first 22 balls he played. He was playing at a run-a-ball and struggling a lot. Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton de Kock, and the debutant (Danish Malewar) had gotten out. So the situation was bad. It seemed like they were gone when Naman Dhir got out, and that nothing was going to happen,” he observed. “However, there was a strategic time-out. After that, he scored 82 runs in the next 23 balls. He went at a strike rate of 350. He hit the joint-fastest century for the Mumbai Indians – Sanath Jayasuriya in 2008 and Tilak Varma in 2026,” Chopra again shared.
However, Aakash Chopra stated that Tilak Varma was unable to perform due to an injury before the T20 World Cup 2026, and he was demoted in the batting order during India’s campaign in the global event.
“Tilak Varma’s last two years were excellent if you see his cricketing career. However, the truth is that when this year started, he was injured till the start of the World Cup. He was made to bat up the order in the World Cup and was then demoted. He rediscovered form, but it was up and down. For Mumbai, he batted up the order and was then demoted, and now he has hit this century. This century shows the guy has class and ability, and that class came to the fore. Bad time and form don’t remain for long. Quality will actually come through,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
