Tilak Varma has revealed he had a huge health scare, which could have taken his life after his debut IPL season. Tilak made his IPL debut in 2022, and immediately after his debut season, he overcame a serious disease.
Tilak Varma was the star performer for India in the Asia Cup 2025 final against Pakistan, scoring an unbeaten 69 from 53 balls, including three fours and four sixes. Coming in with India struggling at 20/3, he played a calm, mature innings under intense pressure to anchor the chase of 147 runs. Varma’s composed knock guided India to a five-wicket victory and their ninth Asia Cup title. His match-winning performance earned him the Player of the Match award.
The 22-year-old has been excellent for the Mumbai Indians in recent times as well, and is part of the upcoming T20I series against Australia. Although he has risen to prominence through IPL, the India star has revealed his struggle with health after the first season.
During a recent chat on the Breakfast with Champions podcast, Tilak revealed he was diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis after an intense period of play and workout. The player said he pushed himself too much for a place in the Indian team, and forgot to take care of his body, which resulted in a serious and almost fatal disease.
Rhabdomyolysis is a condition where damaged skeletal muscle breaks down rapidly, releasing harmful substances like myoglobin into the bloodstream. This can cause muscle pain, weakness, and dark urine, and may lead to serious kidney damage if untreated.
“I was so focused on being in the Test team, and was also playing domestic cricket. I was not giving myself any rest, as I was even doing gym and other workouts on rest day. I wanted to be the fittest player in the World Cup and all. I was just taking an ice bath and sleeping, which was not enough for the body’s recovery,” Tilak said.
The player revealed that continuous overstraining caused the disease, which became quite gruesome at one stage. The player was also told by doctors that he could have lost his life had he delayed his treatment.
“I was in Bangladesh for India A and after playing 100 balls, my hand became stiff. The gloves had to be cut off as I couldn’t move my fingers. Akash Bhai (Akash Ambani) called and contacted BCCI and thanks to them, I was hospitalised promptly. The doctors said a delayed treatment of a few hours could have been fatal,” Tilak revealed.
The incident happened during India A’s tour of Bangladesh in 2022, where in the first unofficial Test, Tilak had to come off after scoring 33 runs off 101 deliveries.
The player said his muscles became so stiff that even needles were breaking for IV administration. Tilak revealed his mother used to feed him for a month. At such a tender age, the experience was fearsome, and the southpaw now mentions that he was just praying for his life, and to play cricket again.
Thankfully, he recovered and was cured completely, and his return to the IPL after that health scare was a fantastic knock against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where he scored 84 off 46 deliveries in MI’s IPL 2023 opener at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.