'India's greatest No.3': Tilak Varma disrespects Virat Kohli with controversial Instagram act

India's star batter Tilak Varma played an innings to remember during the second T20I against England at Chennai. The left-hander showed tremendous composure to take India home in a match where almost all the batters failed.

However, the youngster has landed himself in deep trouble after liking a social media post which captioned "The greatest ever to play at no.3 for India". It is well known that Virat Kohli has been a No. 3 batter for a long time.

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Tilak Varma disrespects Virat Kohli

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A post shared by KL Rahul (@official_cricket84)

After this post was posted on Instagram, it was found to be liked by Tilak Varma's official account which raised questions over his attitude. While the left-hander batted exceptionally well at No. 3 in the second T20I, it is still a long way to match a player of the stature of Virat Kohli.

Unreal Cooking By Tilak Verma On and off the field 😭🔥. pic.twitter.com/v9QVCs4L5Y

— 𝐉𝐨𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐞 (@jod_insane) January 26, 2025

Virat Kohli has been India's No. 3 batter for a long time in white-ball formats. He has played a no. of historic knocks in that position and taken India to some incredible wins over the years.

The 36-year-old retired from T20Is but is still an active player in ODIs and Tests. Kohli will play in the upcoming ODI series against England and will then travel to Dubai where he will be key to India's chances in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Incredible Tilak Varma helps India take a 2-0 lead

Tilak Varma came in to bat when India had just lost Abhishek Sharma. The Men in Blue lost Sanju Samson soon after. After a brief partnership, India lost Suryakumar Yadav and it triggered a collapse as they lost two more wickets in quick succession.

While wickets continued to tumble, Tilak was calm and maintained his composure. He hardly played any rash shots but was also brutal to the bad balls on offer. He found an able support from Washington Sundar and the other lower-order batters.

The left-hander was crucial in keeping the required run rate under control and kept striking boundaries at regular intervals. He smashed a boundary through the covers to finish off the game for India. Tilak Varma remained unbeaten on 72 off 55 balls with 4 fours and 5 sixes.

Tilak Varma's recent form

Tilak Varma has been in exceptional form with the bat in his last few T20I innings, The left-hander made his comeback to international cricket in the four-match T20I series played in South Africa against the home team.

Tilak emerged as the highest run-getter of the series with 280 runs in just four t20Is at a staggering average of 140 and a strike rate of almost 200. He struck two consecutive hundreds in the series which came in the last two matches of the series.

With the help of his recent form, Tilak Varma has formed an excellent T20I record for himself. He has scored 707 runs in 22 T20Is at an average of 58.91 and a strike rate of 156.07 with 2 hundreds and 3 fifties.