'Nothing serious with Tilak Varma's surgery'

Tilak Varma is fine and will be ready for international action soon, said DB Ravi Teja, the coach of the Hyderabad cricket team, denying speculation that the ace India T20 batter could be in danger of missing the Twenty20 World Cup.

Tilak's next international assignment is the T20 home series against New Zealand, starting on January 21 in Nagpur, exactly two weeks from today.

The Hyderabad coach said the 23-year-old left-handed batter, hero of India's Asia Cup triumph in Dubai, will be ready for the five-match series itself, even as there is speculation in certain quarters of the media and social media that his availability for the Twenty20 World Cup, starting on February 7, could be doubtful.

"It was a very minor surgery he underwent in Rajkot on Wednesday. There is nothing serious or alarming about it. He will be ready in three to four days," the 38-year-old Andhra-born Hyderabad coach told Cricbuzz on Thursday. Tilak went under the knife for testicular torsion in Rajkot on Wednesday (January 7) after he suffered an injury during Hyderabad's match versus Bengal.

The coach further said, "Tilak is with the team currently, and he will travel back with the side to Hyderabad. I personally think he should be fine for the Twenty20 series against New Zealand."

According to Ravi Teja, Tilak would have been ready to play on January 8 (Thursday) against Jammu & Kashmir, a match which Hyderabad lost. "He would have been ready to play today. We did not want to take chances since we had no chance of qualifying for the knockouts," the coach said.

Later in the evening, Tilak took to instagram to offer a similarly positive update: "Thank you for all the overwhelming love! Already on the road to recovery and I'll be back on the field sooner than you know it," he wrote.

Hyderabad won just two games in seven league fixtures in Group B. Tilak played only two Vijay Hazare Trophy games and scored 143 runs, including a century (109) against Chandigarh on January 3.