Tilak Varma, India's Asia Cup Hero, Reveals He Was Diagnosed With Rare Muscle Breakdown Disorder

Tilak Varma was India's Asia Cup 2025 final hero. Chasing a target of 147 against Pakistan in the title clash on September 28, India were reduced to 20/3. However, the 22-year-old remained calm and played the best innings of his career so far, slamming 69* off 53 balls to take India to victory. Now, Varma has revealed how his cricket journey could have taken a different turn after he was diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis - a rare condition where the muscles break down - following his first IPL season in 2022.

"I haven't opened up about this to anyone. After my first IPL, I had some health problems. I wanted to be fit. These things haven't come out before. I was diagnosed with something called Rhabdomyolysis, in which muscle breakdown happens. I had it in me that I wanted to be in the Test team. I was playing domestic cricket, the A series, and a camp was going on," Tilak said on the latest episode of Breakfast with Champions.

"Even on rest days, I was in the gym. I wanted to be the fittest player in the world and an excellent fielder, so I wasn't really focusing on recovery. I was taking ice baths, but I wasn't giving my body proper time to recover. I was pushing myself even on rest days. So, the muscle was overstrained and it broke down. The nerves became quite hard."

Varma added that his IPL team and Jay Shah helped him immensely.

"Mumbai Indians were there with me, and I was playing the A series in Bangladesh. I pushed myself for a hundred, and my eyes started tearing up. My fingers weren't moving at all. Everything became so stiff-it felt like stone. I had to retire hurt, and my gloves had to be cut off because my fingers weren't moving," Tilak recalled.

"Immediately, I got a call from Akash Ambani. He spoke to the BCCI, which was very helpful. Thanks to Jay Shah, sir. I was immediately admitted to the hospital. The doctors told me that if I had delayed even by a few hours, the consequences could have been catastrophic. Even the IV line needle wasn't going in-it kept breaking. My condition was very serious in the hospital. My mother was with me."

Topics mentioned in this article

Tilak Varma India Cricket Team Mumbai Indians Cricket