The Mumbai Indians’ decision to retire out Tilak Varma has been described as “shocking and surprising” by former Indian cricketer Surinder Khanna, who also questioned the potential effects of such a move on a young player’s confidence.

When head coach Mahela Jayawardene made an unusual tactical change in the closing overs of Mumbai’s frantic 204-run chase against the Lucknow Super Giants on Friday, the event occurred.

In a last-ditch effort to give the pursuit new life, Jayawardene made a football-style replacement, substituting Mitchell Santner for Tilak, who had scored 25 off 23 balls, with 24 runs required off the last seven deliveries.

The outcome itself indicates that Tilak Varma’s retirement was a poor choice. The circumstance is a match. Calling someone retired out doesn’t look nice. On a video conference with IANS, Khanna said, “Retaining him out based on his performance on that specific day isn’t justifiable. If he goes against his choice or has any injuries, that’s a different story.

Khanna emphasized the importance of having faith in a player’s skills, particularly when they are given a certain position in the batting order. “There should be faith in it when you give a player a certain number as a batsman,” he said.

“I would say it was shocking,” he continued. It was unexpected that you criticized him and undermined his self-esteem. A meal that has too many chefs is ruined.

After Tilak spent a lot of time at the crease but was unable to establish boundaries, the decision was made. He first showed promise by forming a reliable combination with Suryakumar Yadav, coming in at No. 5 at a crucial point in the game when MI was 86 for 3 in the ninth over. However, the southpaw was unable to find the acceleration as the chase became more intense, particularly when Suryakumar was dismissed in the 17th over, which significantly swung the match in LSG’s favor.

But the tactic was unsuccessful, as the Mumbai Indians ultimately lost the match by a score of 12 runs.