[Watch] Indian cricketers offer prayers at Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain after 2nd T20I win over Afghanistan

Indian cricketers Ravi Bishnoi, Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar, and Jitesh Sharma attended the 'Bhasma Aarti' at the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain after the second T20I win over Afghanistan.

The temple is significant among Hindus, with the 'Bhasma Aarti' being a unique ritual that symbolizes the ephemeral nature of life and the cycle of creation and destruction.

All four players attended the ritual on Monday, the following morning after India completed a six-wicket against the Afghans in Indore. The temple is on the banks of the holy river Shipra, and Lord Shiva is worshipped as Mahakal.

The video below of the four attending the Bhasma aarti at the temple recently took social media by storm.

Back on the cricket field, three of the four cricketers played the second game against Afghanistan, with only Tilak Varma missing out.

While Bishnoi picked up two crucial wickets, Sundar went wicketless in his three overs, and Jitesh Sharma was dismissed for a two-ball duck.

In the opening T20I, the two spinners, Bishnoi and Sundar, were wicketless, while Tilak and Jitesh produced vital cameos of 26 (22) and 31 (20), respectively.

Team India won both games convincingly by six wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead. The final T20I to be played at Bangalore on Wednesday, January 17.

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"He will be slightly disappointed that he has not yet sealed his place" - Saba Karim on Tilak Varma

Tilak Varma has struggled to convert his starts to bigger scores.

Former Indian wicketkeeper Saba Karim feels Tilak Varma would be disappointed at not being able to cement a spot in the Indian white-ball side.

While his ODI career is only four matches old, the 21-year-old has played 16 T20I games since his debut in August last year. Yet, after scores of 39, 51, and 49* in his first three T20I innings, the youngster has crossed 50 only once in his last 12 batting stints.

Speaking to Jio Cinemas on Tilak's omission for the second T20I, Karim stressed that the competition within the Indian side relegates certain players to the bench more than their poor performances.

"I know Tilak Varma has done very well, having said that he will be slightly disappointed that he has not yet sealed his place (in the squad). None of the players who are sitting out are out because of bad performance... It's just that India has so many quality players and if a player like Virat Kohli is making a comeback, he is going to be in the starting eleven for sure," said Karim.

Overall, Tilak boasts an admirable T20I record, with an average of 33.60 and a strike rate of 139.41 in 16 games.

However, with the return of Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the T20I side and the heroic performances of Shivam Dube against Afghanistan, Tilak could struggle to find an immediate spot in the playing XI.