During a recent IPL 2025 match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), a notable incident occurred involving MI’s batter Tilak Varma. In the 19th over, with MI needing 29 runs from 12 balls, head coach Mahela Jayawardene made the tactical decision to retire Tilak out and send in Mitchell Santner, aiming to accelerate the scoring.
Suryakumar Yadav, observing from the dugout, appeared visibly upset by this move. Footage captured him expressing his discontent, prompting Jayawardene to approach and explain the rationale behind the decision. Despite the explanation, Suryakumar seemed unconvinced.
Jayawardene later addressed the media, stating, “He just wanted to get going but he couldn’t. [We] waited till the last few overs, hoping that [he would find his rhythm], because he had spent some time there so he should have been able to get that hit out of the way, but I just felt that at the end, I just needed someone fresh to go, and he was struggling.”
Despite these strategic moves, MI fell short, losing the match by 12 runs. This incident has sparked discussions about the use of ‘retired out’ as a tactical maneuver in cricket.
