'Fingers Move Nahi Kar Paa Raha Tha': Tilak Varma Reveals Being Diagnosed With Rhabdomyolysis, Credits Akash Ambani & BCCI For Helping Him Overcome It

Team India's T20I star Tilak Varma has opened up on the dark time of being diagnosed with a dangerous condition called Rhabdomyolysis. With the condition affecting muscles on multiple levels and causing muscle strains, he credited Mumbai Indians, Jay Shah, COE and BCCI for taking extremely good care of him.

Varma, who shone into the spotlight with a promising season in 2022 for the Mumbai Indians, has now become a regular fixture in India's T20 side. The left-handed batter played a match-winning knock of 69 in the Asia Cup 2025 final against Pakistan despite stepping into the cauldron at 20/3.

Speaking to Gaurav Kapur during the latest episode of Breakfast With Champions, the 22-year-old revealed:

"First IPL ke baad mera health ka thoda problem aaya tha. Mujhe fit banna tha. Yeh baatein bahaar aayi nahin hai. Rhabdomyolysis karke ek hai jisme muscle breakdown hota hai. Mujhe aisa tha ki Test team mein aana hai, domestic bhi khel raha tha, India A ka series khel raha tha, camp chal rahe they aur rest days mein bhi main gym kar raha tha. World Cup mein fittest player raho, field mein fast raho toh recovery ka dhyaan nahin de raha tha main. Ice bath kar raha tha, so raha tha par body phir bhi recover nahin hota hai, usko proper recovery ke liye aaram chahiye."

(After the first IPL, I had some health problems. I wanted to be fit. These things have not come out. I was diagnosed with something called Rhabdomyolysis in which muscle breakdowns happen. I had in me that I wanted to be in the Test team, was playing domestic cricket, A series, camp was going on. Even on rest days, I was in the gym. Wanted to be the fittest and an excellent fielder, so I wasn't quite focusing on recovery. I was taking ice bath but I was not giving my body the proper time to recover.)

He elaborated:

"Rest day mein bhi push kar raha tha. Toh muscle overstrain hoke, muscle breakdown ho gaya. Usme nerves sab ekdum hard ho gaya. Usme Mumbai Indians mere saath mein tha, India A ka series Bangladesh mein khel raha tha. 100 ball tak push kiya, phir aankhon mein se paani aa raha hai. Bat bhi nahin move ho pa raha tha, fingers move nahin hua, sab cheez hard ho gaya. Retire hurt ho gaya, gloves kaatna pada because fingers move nahin kar paa raha tha. Akash bhai they, BCCI se baat kiya, unhone bhi bahut help kiya, thanks to Jay Shah sir, COE. Hospital mein gaya, bole tu aur thoda delay hota na, kuch bhi ho sakta tha."

(I was pushing myself even on rest days. So, the muscle was overstrained and it broke down. The nerves went quite hard. Mumbai Indians was there with me and I was playing the A series in Bangladesh. I pushed myself for 100 balls but the fingers weren't at all moving. Everything became so hard. I had to retire hurt, gloves had to be cut off because fingers weren't moving. Akash bhai was there, he spoke to the BCCI, who also helped a lot. Thanks a lot to Jay Shah sir and COE. I went to the hospital and they told me even if you delayed a but, the consequences could have been catastrophic.)

Tilak Varma's next outing will come in Australia

Meanwhile, the southpaw's next outing for India will come during the upcoming T20I series in Australia, beginning on October 27.

India's T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.

Published on: Thursday, October 23, 2025, 02:17 PM IST