‘Tilak Varma played for himself’: Srikkanth criticizes Indian batter after series loss | Cricket News

Former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth criticized Tilak Varma after India’s shocking one-off loss to Ireland in the second T20I in Belfast on June 28.Chasing 155 to level the two-match series, India were reduced to 19/3 in the third over when Tilak Varma came into play. The 23-year-old tried to stabilize the innings but could only manage a slow-paced 55 off 46 balls. The rest of the batting line-up also struggled as India lost one run to lose the series 0-2.Criticizing Tilak and other batters on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth said, “Tilak Varma tried to finish the job and become a hero. He thought about winning at the end and celebrating by raising his jersey. These goals need to be pursued with an over to spare rather than going all the way.“You cannot play the way India played in the middle phase, especially Tilak Varma, Dube and Axar. All of their hitting numbers were poor. You need to stabilize a bit and then start attacking in the middle phase. Otherwise, you’re screwed if you fail in the middle phase. India lost the game in the middle phase. Tilak Varma was simply playing for himself, making his way to the ones and twos. Axar Patel was the same.”Tilak also struggled in the first T20I, scoring 21 off 19 balls as India lost by 34 runs.Srikkanth also criticized India’s approach during the middle overs of the second T20I. The visitors bowled seven overs without hitting a single boundary, with Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube and Axar Patel unable to score freely.“There was a phase where there were 45 balls without a boundary in the middle phase. How can you win a T20 match this way? It’s a shame that Ireland’s medical bowling rounded out this Indian line-up. Even in the IPL, look at how many of these top Indian batters have scored in Lucknow? Because in Lucknow the wicket helped the bowlers swing and seam. Very few Indian batters scored in Lucknow. India needed to attack in the middle and not take it to the end,” Srikkanth said.Before this series, India had won all eight of their previous T20Is against Ireland. The 0-2 defeat marked India’s first-ever loss to Ireland in this format.