Mumbai Indians came under heavy criticism for a debatable tactical decision during their unsuccessful chase of 204 against Lucknow Super Giants in their IPL 2025 match in Lucknow on Friday, April 4. Former cricketers, including Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan, slammed the move to retire out young batter Tilak Varma in the penultimate over, after he struggled to build momentum during the chase.
Tilak Varma was surprisingly brought in as the Impact Player by Mumbai Indians, despite the absence of former captain Rohit Sharma, who missed the match with a knee injury. Typically a top- or middle-order batter, Tilak came in at No. 5 when Mumbai were comfortably placed at 86 for 3 in the 9th over, following Naman Dhir’s blistering 46 off just 24 balls.
However, Tilak never quite found his rhythm. He struggled from the outset, particularly against mystery spinner Digvesh Rathi during the middle overs. The young left-hander, who usually bats at No. 3 for India, was under mounting pressure when MI needed 29 runs from the final two overs. (LSG vs MI Highlights | Scorecard)
Tilak attempted to break free but failed to connect cleanly against Shardul Thakur in the 19th over. Thakur conceded only five singles and a double in that over. Tilak was then seen walking back to the pavilion, having been retired out-a decision that caught many off guard. The youngster looked visibly dejected as he exited, having failed to inject the much-needed momentum into MI’s innings.
Mitchell Santner replaced Tilak at the crease. However, the New Zealand captain was unable to deliver the big shots. Hardik Pandya, who started the final over with a six, kept the strike but was eventually outmanoeuvred by Avesh Khan’s precise yorkers. The last five balls of the innings yielded just three runs as Mumbai fell short by 12 runs.
The move to retire out Tilak drew sharp responses on social media.
“Tilak Verma retired out and Santner coming in? Doesn’t make sense to me. What do you guys think?” wrote Irfan Pathan on X, formerly Twitter.
“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 added.
Tilak Varma hit just two boundaries in his 23-ball stay.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar questioned why Tilak Varma was batting out of position, highlighting he bats higher-up the order even for India.
“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,” the batting great said.
Mumbai Indians finished on the wrong side of the result despite a brisk 67 from Suryakumar Yadav and a quick-fire 48 from Naman Dhir.
Earlier in the day, captain Hardik Pandya took five wickets for the first time in his career. However, Mitchell Marsh’s 30-ball 60 and Aiden Markram’s well-composed 53 along with cameos from David Miller and Ayush Badoni helped LSG post 200-plus for the first time in their IPL history at home.
MI have now lost three our of their first four matches in IPL 2025, sitting in the second half of the points table.
