 "Jayawardene says retiring Tilak was his call; former cricketer slams 'tactical' move: 'Doesn't make sense'")
Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mahela Jayawardene has revealed that it was his decision to retire Tilak Varma who was struggling to up the ante in the chase against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Friday. Tilak Varma walked off to the dugout after scoring 25 off 23 in a chase of 204 at the Ekana Stadium.
At the time of Tilak’s departure, MI were still in need of 24 runs from the last seven balls to win their second match in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. They, however, were only able to add 11 runs more with captain Hardik Pandya scoring 28 not out off 16 while Mitchell Santner, who replaced Tilak, finished on two from two balls.
Jayawardene says it was his call to retire Tilak
While Hardik is facing a lot of criticism on social media platforms for sending Tilak back, coach Jayawardene has explained that it was his decision. The former Sri Lankan batter termed it a “tactical” call.
“Tilak batted well for us when we lost that [third] wicket, and [built] that partnership with Surya. He wanted to get going but just couldn’t. He waited till the last few overs hoping; because you spent some time, you should have been able to get that hit out of the way. But I felt that in the end we just needed someone fresh to have a go when he was struggling.
“These things happen in cricket and it was not nice to take him out, but I had to do that. That was a tactical decision at that point,” Jayawardene said in the press conference.
Former Indian cricketers slam decision to retire Tilak
While Jayawardene had his own reasons to retire Tilak, former Indian cricketers did not approve of the decision. Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan questioned the decision on X, saying it didn’t make sense to him.
“Tilak Verma retired out and Santner coming in? Doesn’t make sense to me. What do you guys think?” wrote Irfan Pathan on X.
Tilak Verma retired out n Santner coming in? Doesn’t make sense to me. What do you guys think?
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 4, 2025
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHarbhajan Singh minced no words as he felt MI made a mistake by retiring Tilak when his replacement was Santner.
“Retiring Tilak for Santner was a mistake in my opinion. Is Santner a better hitter than Tilak? If it was for Pollard or some other accomplished hitter, I would have understood. But I don’t agree with this. Come on Mumbai Indians,” Harbhajan Singh wrote.
Retiring Tilak for Santer was a mistake in my opinion . Is Santner a better hitter than Tilak ? If it was for Pollard or some other accomplished hitter I would have understood . But Don’t agree with this . Come on @mipaltan
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 4, 2025
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar sympathised with Impact Player Tilak and questioned him batting at No.5 for Mumbai Indians.
“I also feel that despite the fact that Naman Dhir batted exceedingly well, I still feel he is a 14th to 20th over powerplay. Tilak Varma, who has batted so well for India at No. 3, he should be up at No. 3. Tilak coming down the order, not having fielded at all… when you field, you get a feel of the match. Suddenly, if you go out to bat, it’s never easy,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by India Today.
It was the third defeat for MI in four IPL 2025 matches. They are currently seventh in the table with just two points.
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