A young, promising and talented 22 year-old batter walking off the field, dejected, having been ‘retired-hurt’ by the coach is never a sight cricket fans want to watch. As Tilak Varma walked off the field in the last game after a sluggish innings, the young batter found himself in the headlines, alongside the MI skipper Hardik Pandya and Head Coach Mahela Jayawardene, who had made the decision to sub-out Varma.
The bizarre incident took social media by storm. In hindsight, the sub did not change anything for MI; they were already on a downhill slope with Mitchell Santner replacing Tilak in an inconsequential penultimate over. Ultimately, MI ended up on the losing side and so did Tilak, who had to now bear the brunt of social media. While many spoke in favour of the young batters, including cricketing experts and pundits, there was also a majority who believed that Tilak needed intervention because he was quite clearly struggling to accelerate.
Tilak stepped out to bat once again at the Wankhede Stadium against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). This time around, the pressure was higher than ever, Tilak not only needed to redeem himself from his previous outing but also had to make sure that MI successfully chase a 221 run target—and he stole the show. His efforts may have gone in vain as MI ended up losing the game, but the fact that Tilak stepped up in a pressure-cooker situation and almost took the game away from RCB, was in itself a testament to his mental fortitude. Coming in with heightened expectations, and the weight of the chase on his shoulders, Tilak answered all his critics and all the questions raised, with his bat.
An interesting sub-plot was added to the entire controversy last night when Hardik Pandya revealed that Tilak was subbed-out due to an injury. The skipper noted that it was a tactical decision. What went into consideration when retiring Tilak out is something that we might never know, and it is something that will always stay inside the MI dressing room—what we do know is that Tilak rose above the situation with courage.
With MI losing crucial wickets from one end, Tilak took control. Alongside skipper Hardik, the two stitched an important 89-run partnership off just 34 balls, one that threw RCB bowlers off their game for a good while. And it almost seemed like with the Mumbai breeze blowing strong, the tide was turning against the visitors.
Tilak was exceptional with his stroke-play, hitting clean and controlled shots that cleared the boundary. It may not have been ‘meant to be’ in the end, but Tilak’s resilience was a moment to remember and one of the highlights of the match. At just 22, the young batter displayed immense character in the face of adversity, one that was painfully public. And it was only a glimpse into what he can do for the franchise in the future.
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