During Friday's IPL 2025 match between the Mumbai Indians and the Lucknow Super Giants, Tilak Varma was shockingly retired. Mitchell Santner took Tilak's position when he left the field with 24 runs needed off 7. However, Avesh Khan defended 22 runs in the last over to secure the victory for LSG, therefore, the move did not lead to victory. Fans were taken aback by the move because Tilak was already hitting at 25 off 23 balls and adding a new hitter at that point carried a significant risk. Harbhajan Singh, a former spinner for India, expressed his disagreement with the call.
Harbhajan Singh and Hanuma Vihari on Tilka Varma's retired out
"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 posted on X (formerly called Twitter).
Indian cricketer Hanuma Vihari also expressed his disappointment with the decision.
"Tilak Verma retired out for santner??? Make me make sense!!! Hardik struggled vs GT never was retired out! Why tilak then?" he posted.
In an Indian Premier League game on Friday, the Lucknow Super Giants upset the Mumbai Indians by 12 runs, despite Suryakumar Yadav's valiant half-century. Despite MI captain Hardik Pandya (5/36) taking his first five-wicket haul in T20 cricket, LSG reached 203/8 using a half-century from openers Mitchell Marsh (60 off 31 balls) and Aiden Markram (53 off 38 balls). In response, Suryakumar scored a 43-ball 67, which included nine boundaries and a six, but MI was limited to 191 for five. For LSG, Digvesh Rathi, Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, and Shardul Thakur each claimed a wicket. After getting struck on the knee during nets, former MI captain Rohit Sharma was forced to sit out the match.