In a gripping encounter during the IPL 2025 season, Mumbai Indians’ young batter Tilak Varma etched his name into the annals of IPL history by becoming only the fourth player to be retired out. This tactical move occurred during the match against Lucknow Super Giants on Friday, where Varma departed after scoring 25 runs off 23 balls, with seven balls remaining in the chase of a daunting 204.
Despite a promising start, Mumbai Indians fell short by 12 runs, needing 24 off the last seven deliveries with five wickets still in hand. The decision to retire Varma out was confirmed by MI’s head coach, Mahela Jayawardene, who explained it as a tactical necessity due to Varma’s struggle to accelerate the scoring rate.
‘He just wanted to get going but he couldn’t. We waited till the last few overs, hoping he would find his rhythm. He had spent some time at the crease, so we expected him to get that hit out of the way. But at the end, I felt we needed someone fresh to go, and he was struggling. These things happen in cricket. It’s not nice to take him out, but I had to do that; it was a tactical decision at that point,’ Jayawardene elaborated.
Varma had come to the crease with Mumbai Indians well-positioned at 86 for 3 in 8.1 overs. He formed a crucial 66-run partnership off 48 balls with Suryakumar Yadav for the fourth wicket. While Yadav scored fluently, amassing 46 runs off 30 balls during their stand, Varma managed just 17 runs off 18 deliveries.
Following Yadav’s dismissal, Mumbai Indians required 52 runs from the final 23 balls. Varma scored eight runs off his last five balls, including an edged boundary, before being retired out with captain Hardik Pandya at the other end.
Pandya supported the decision in his post-match comments to broadcasters: ‘I think that was obvious. We needed some hits, and he was not able to get them. Sometimes in cricket, one of those days comes when you really want to try but it does not happen. The decision speaks for itself, why we did it.’
Despite the tactical substitution of Varma, who entered as an Impact Sub, Mumbai Indians were unable to achieve the target, resulting in a 12-run victory for Lucknow Super Giants.