India star embarrassed by Mumbai Indians in IPL 2025, joins English county Hampshire for Four Matches

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Tilak Varma is all set for his first County Championship adventure as the 22-year-old Indian batting prodigy has signed up with Hampshire for four matches in England's premier red-ball competition.

His stint begins with an away clash against Essex at Chelmsford from June 22 to 25 and Varma is expected to join his county team ahead of that.

It's a fresh challenge for the left-hander from Hyderabad, who has made a serious name for himself in white-ball cricket over the last couple of years. Tilak already has 29 India caps, 25 of them in T20Is. He's smashed 749 runs in those games, including two cracking centuries - both coming in back-to-back knocks against South Africa in November 2024 - plus three half-centuries, the most recent being a classy 72* against England earlier this year.

In IPL circles, Tilak's been one of Mumbai Indians' most consistent batters since joining them in 2022. He's piled up close to 1500 runs in 54 games with a rock-solid average of 37.47 and a fiery strike rate of 144.41.

Tilak Varma played a big part for Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2025 season but had an embarrassing moment when Mumbai Indians decided to retire him out in a match against Lucknow Super Giants, as the batter was batting on 25 off 23 balls. MI ended up losing the match by 12 runs.

But now, it's time for red-ball cricket - and this is where things get really interesting. Despite being viewed as a white-ball specialist, the 22-year-old has quietly built a solid First-Class record. In 18 matches so far, he's scored over 1200 runs at an average of 50.16, with five hundreds and four fifties. He's also had India A exposure through the Duleep Trophy and a couple of games against the England Lions earlier this year.

Hampshire, currently seventh in Division One, will be hoping the Indian southpaw adds some spark to their middle order. The club came agonisingly close to winning the title last season, finishing second - their best result since 2005.