Why Tilak Varma Retired Out in MI vs LSG?

Mumbai Indians surprised everyone when Tilak Varma retired out in the 18th over yesterday. With this, he became the fourth player in IPL history to return in this fashion. Entering the ground as an impact player, the left-hand batter, for some reason, failed to connect the ball. He scored 25 runs in 23 balls with two boundaries. MI replaced him with Santner, but decent bowling from Shardul Thakur and Avesh Khan couldn’t help them escape the loss. While some support MI’s decision, others believe that Tilak being sent back as retired out would bring down his confidence. Cricket fans took to social media and expressed their disappointment over Tilak Varma retired out controversy.

Chasing a target of 204 against LSG, Mumbai Indians looked comfortable till Suryakumar got out. Batting with Hardik Pandya, Tilak struggled to free his arms and was restricted to rotate the strike. With the needed run rate climbing, MI asked the southpaw to walk back. What surprised fans is that it brought Santner in his place. Also, Hardik refused to take singles and denied batting to Santner. Fans felt that Tilak would have been the best option as he could have gone for some big shots towards the end.

From MI boss Akash Ambani to Suryakumar Yadav in the dugout looked surprised by this move. The disappointment over this strange out was clearly visible on their faces. Although it proved wrong towards the end, MI skipper Hardik Pandya backed the move.

Former Indian players like Virendra Sehwag, Murali Karthik, Harbhajan Singh, Sunil Gavaskar, Irfan Pathan, and Hanuma Vihari expressed their confusion. Many called it MI’s strategic decision failure. They felt the benefit of the doubt favours Tilak Varma than Mitchell Santner. It would be interesting to see how Tilak bounces back in the next IPL game.

Also Read: Captains With Most Consecutive Wins In IPL

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