Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Hanuma Vihari attack Hardik Pandya after Tilak Varma move backfires

Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered a 12-run loss against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the 16th match of the IPL 2025 season. In a closely fought contest, Mumbai made the bold decision to retire out Tilak Varma and bring in Mitchell Santner, a move that raised eyebrows across the cricketing community.

Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma were at the crease when the team needed 29 runs off the final 12 balls. However, Varma struggled to score boundaries in the final overs. He was batting on 25 runs from 23 balls, including two boundaries. Mitchell Santner was brought in with just seven balls left in the innings.

Tilak Varma's Struggles Added Pressure on Mumbai Indians

Shardul Thakur delivered a disciplined spell in the penultimate over. The Lucknow pacer conceded just seven runs, leaving Mumbai Indians needing 22 off the final over. Avesh Khan was handed the ball for the last six deliveries. Hardik Pandya gave the Mumbai Indians hope by smashing the first ball for a six.

Avesh then bowled a yorker on the pads. With 14 needed off four balls, Pandya didn’t rotate the strike and played two dot balls. The Mumbai skipper finally took a single on the fifth delivery, leaving Mitchell Santner with an improbable task of scoring 13 off the final ball. He failed to connect, sealing MI’s defeat.

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Retiring Tilak for Santner Was a Mistake in My Opinion - Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan criticized Mumbai Indians’ decision to retire out Tilak Varma. Singh stated that replacing Tilak with Mitchell Santner didn’t make sense unless it was for a proven power-hitter like Kieron Pollard. Irfan asked fans for their thoughts on the unexpected call.

"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," Harbhajan wrote on X.

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

"Tilak Verma retired out n Santner coming in? Doesn't make sense to me. What do you guys think?" Irfan tweeted.

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

Tilak Varma Retired Out for Santner??? - Hanuma Vihari

Hanuma Vihari also questioned the logic behind the Mumbai Indians’ decision to retire out Tilak Varma. He pointed out that Hardik Pandya struggled in a previous game against the Gujarat Titans, but he was never retired out.

"Tilak Verma retired out for santner??? Make me make sense!!! Hardik struggled vs GT never was retired out! Why tilak then?," Hanuma Vihari stated.

Tilak Verma retired out for santner???
Make me make sense!!!
Hardik struggled vs GT never was retired out! Why tilak then?

— Hanuma vihari (@Hanumavihari) April 4, 2025

Tilak Varma became only the fourth player in IPL history to be retired out. Coming in at No. 5 during the ninth over, the 22-year-old struggled to find rhythm throughout his innings and managed just 25 off 23 balls.

Ravichandran Ashwin became the first player to be retired out in IPL 2022, followed by Atharva Taide and Sai Sudharsan in later seasons.

This wasn’t the first time Tilak faltered under pressure. He had also failed to make a significant impact in a previous match against the Gujarat Titans. The left-handed batter scored 39 off 36 balls in an unsuccessful run chase.

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