New Delhi: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) took a sigh of relief when they nearly managed to eke out a win against Mumbai Indians (MI), despite their last-minute tactic of retiring Tilak Varma out – a move that is being questioned a lot. In the heat of the 204 run-chase, MI retired out the left-handed batter, who was batting on 25 off 23 during the penultimate over from Shardul Thakur.
Five balls into the over, MI sent in Mitchell Santner to replace Varma, with 24 runs still to get from 7 deliveries. MI eventually lost the game as Avesh Khan, in the final over, successfully defended 22 runs, and LSG closed out a 12-run win.
“It was obvious that we needed some hits and he was not getting… in cricket, one of those days come when you really try but it does not happen. I think the decision speaks for itself why we did it,” MI skipper Hardik Pandya said during the post-match presentation.
During the post-match press conference, MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene took ownership of the decision saying, “He just wanted to get going but he couldn’t. We waited till the last few overs, hoping that (he would get his rhythm), because he had spent some time there so he should have been able to get that hit out of the way, but I just felt that at the end, I just needed someone fresh to go, and he was struggling.”
“These things happen in cricket. Not nice to take him out but I had to do that, it was a tactical decision at that point,” the former Sri Lankan player said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Retired out in IPL
Tilak walking back to the pavillion was the fourth instrance of a batter retiring out in the history of the IPL. It was Ravichandran Ashwin who was the first to be retired out while playing for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in 2022, against LSG in Mumbai. In IPL 2023, PBKS retired out Atharva Taide against Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala and the Gujarat Titans (GT) did the same with Sai Sudharsan against Mumbai Indians in Ahmedabad.
Retired out in the IPL
- R Ashwin vs LSG, Wankhede, 2022
- Atharva Taide vs DC, Dharamshala, 2023
- Sai Sudharsan vs MI, Ahmedabad, 2023
- Tilak Varma vs LSG, Lucknow, 2025
Tilak Varma was swapped with Mitchell Santner during the penultimate over of MI’s run-chase against LSG, making him the fourth player to be retired out in the IPL. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
