The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI) on Friday, 4 April, saw a unique sight as MI batter Tilak Varma was retired out in the 19th over. (Match Highlights | Full Coverage)
The controversial decision taken by MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene 바카라 which he later defended as a 바카라tactical바카라 decision 바카라 perplexed everyone in the stadium, none more so than vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav.
Quite unsurprisingly, voluntary decisions to withdraw batters are extremely uncommon in professional cricket. IPL 바카라 which has seen everything from dismissals due to field obstructions and ambidextrous bowlers 바카라 has also had four players in total who have been retired out in its 18 seasons.
Below is the list of all the four players who have been tactically withdrawn during an IPL match.
Tilak Varma (Mumbai Indians)
Score: 25 off 23
Match: LSG vs MI, IPL 2025
With Mumbai Indians chasing 204 against LSG, Tilak Varma came on as an Impact Player at No. 5 but failed to find the big shots. The away team needed 52 in the last four overs, and Tilak could manage just one lucky boundary during his last five balls.
With MI needing 24 off the last seven balls, a desperate Mahela Jayawardene decided to withdraw Varma, sending Mitchell Santner in his place. It was too little too late; Santner only faced two balls, and Mumbai lost the match by 12 runs.
Sai Sudarshan(Gujarat Titans)
Score: 43 off 31
Match: GT vs MI, IPL 2023
In the second qualifier of IPL 2023, Gujarat Titans were sent to bat first by MI at Ahmedabad. Shubman Gill had a knock to remember, scoring 129 runs from 60 balls. On the opposite end, Sai Sudharsan had a solid innings too.
However, GT바카라s innings slowed down in the last three overs. After the end of the 19th over, Sudharsan, batting at 43, opted to forego his half-century and walk out, with Rashid Khan coming in as a replacement. The move did not have much impact, with Rashid scoring five runs off two balls. However, GT won that match by 62 runs and eventually won the title.
Atharva Taide (Punjab Kings)
Score: 55 off 42
Match: DC vs PBKS, IPL 2023
Punjab Kings (PBKS) were chasing a target of 214 at Dharamsala, and a 94-run knock from Liam Livingstone kept them in the mix. Youngster Atharva Taide had a solid knock, reaching his half century. However, the batter only had a strike rate of 130, and Punjab needed big hitters to win the game.
With 86 runs needed from 30 balls, the Kings decided to withdraw Taide and send in Jitesh Sharma, who got out after a three-ball duck. Shahrukh Khan and Sam Curran could also manage just six and 11 respectively, showing that Taide바카라s retire out was the wrong decision.
Ravichandran Ashwin (Rajasthan Royals)
Score: 28 off 23
Match: RR vs LSG, IPL 2022
With Rajasthan Royals (RR) being forced to bat first against LSG in Match 20 of IPL 2022, the Royals managed 135/4 with ten balls. Ashwin, who came out at No. 6, was batting at 28 from 23 balls with a strike rate of 121.
In a decision which later proved to be inspired, Ashwin decided to retire out 바카라 the first ever in IPL바카라s history 바카라 and send in Riyan Parag. The youngster came out hitting a maximum but got caught soon after, but RR managed to add 30 runs in the last 10 balls, and eventually secured a three-run win.
