MI’s Move to Retire Tilak Varma Raises Eyebrows: The cricket fans were left scratching their heads and experts were stunned when Mumbai Indians made a surprise decision during their IPL 2025 match against Lucknow Super Giants. In the high-pressure clash, MI retired out batter Tilak Varma in the second last over and brought in Mitchell Santner. The unexpected move didn’t go well with former Indian cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan, who openly questioned the decision on social media.
It all happened on April 4, when Mumbai Indians were chasing a big target of 204 runs at Lucknow’s home ground. The match was in a tense stage — 29 runs were needed from 12 balls. On the crease were Tilak Varma and captain Hardik Pandya. Instead of going for the big hits, Tilak was finding it tough to connect the ball. That’s when MI decided to retire him out and send in Santner. But, Surya Kumar Yadav was not happy at all with the decision as his reaction says it all.
However, even this tactical change did not help the team cross the line. Mumbai fell short by 12 runs and suffered their third defeat of the season. Fans and experts alike were left wondering — was this a masterstroke or a mistake?
Harbhajan Singh didn’t hold back. He wrote 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 don’t agree with this. Come on.” Irfan Pathan also added, “Tilak Varma retired out and Santner coming in? Doesn’t make sense to me. What do you guys think?”
Even though the decision was within the rules, many people found it odd, especially because Santner isn’t known as a big hitter under pressure. Tilak, who had scored 25 runs from 23 balls, had struggled to get boundaries but had also spent time at the crease and understood the pitch.
After the match, Mumbai’s head coach Mahela Jayawardene defended the call. Speaking to the media, he explained, “Tilak was trying, but couldn’t get the big shots. We felt we needed someone fresh. It was a tactical decision. I waited hoping he’d get going but he was struggling.” Jayawardene added that the team had to make a tough call as the asking rate was rising quickly.
Hardik Pandya also took full responsibility as captain, saying during the post-match presentation, “We needed some hits. In cricket, some of those days come. The ownership has to be taken by the whole batting unit. I take full ownership.”
Tilak came to bat at number five when MI were 86 for 3 in the 9th over. He tried building a partnership with Suryakumar Yadav, but after Surya got out in the 17th over, the momentum shifted. Tilak couldn’t find the boundaries and eventually had to make way.
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Jayawardene said he hoped Tilak could finish the innings since he had already spent time in the middle, but in the final moments, the team felt a fresh batter might offer more firepower. Unfortunately, neither Santner nor Hardik could deliver in the last over.
This move of retiring out Tilak for Santner — more common in T20 franchise cricket but still rare in Indian cricket — has now opened a debate on whether such bold tactics are worth the gamble in tight games.
While MI will surely regroup and rethink their strategy for the upcoming matches, fans and former players will continue to discuss this unusual moment. One thing’s for sure: in IPL, every decision matters — and sometimes, it becomes the turning point of a match.
