Mumbai Indians batter Tilak Varma became the fourth player in the Indian Premier League history to be retired out during his team's clash against Lucknow Super Giants. Tilak scored 25 from 23 balls in the 204-run chase as he was finding it hard to get boundaries in the death overs.
The Southpaw was pulled back by MI in the second last over and sent Mitchell Santner to bat alongside Hardik Pandya, who was already in the middle. The move, however, did not produce the result MI were wanting as they lost the game by 12 runs despite Hardik's 16-ball 28.
Tilak has now opened up on the much-talked-about incident after MI's nail-biting win over Delhi Capitals on Sunday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Speaking to the broadcasters, the MI batter stated that he took the decision in a positive manner and not in a negative way.
"Nothing. I was just thinking that they made the decision for the team's purpose. So, I took it in a positive way and didn't take it in a negative way. But the main thing is how you take it. It's more important," Tilak said on Star Sports after MI's win over DC.
"So I was thinking it that way. I just want to be comfortable wherever I bat. So I told the coach and staff, "Don't worry, wherever you play me, I'm comfortable, and I'll give my best," he added.
Notably, MI skipper Hardik and head coach Mahela Jayawardene had spoken about the decision after the match against LSG. "We needed some hits, but he was not getting those. In cricket, some of those days come, when you try but they don't come. Just play good cricket, I like to keep it simple. Take better calls, be smart in bowling, and take chances in batting. It is a long tournament, you get a couple of wins and get into the rhythm," Hardik said after the match.
Meanwhile, Jayawardene confirmed it was his call to retire Tilak out. "He just wanted to get going, but he couldn't," Jayawardene said in the post-match press conference after his team's 12-run loss to LSG. "[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.
"These things happen in cricket. Not nice to take him out, but I had to do that, it was a tactical decision at that point."