Former Indian captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth criticized Tilaka Varma after India’s shock one-run defeat to Ireland in the second T20I in Belfast on 28 June.Chasing 155 to level the two-match series, India were reduced to 19/3 in the third over when Tilak Varma came into bat. The 23-year-old tried to even out the innings but could only manage a sluggish 55 off 46 balls. The rest of the batting line-up also struggled as India were bowled out for one run, suffering a 0-2 series defeat.Criticizing Tilak and other batsmen on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth said, “Tilak Varma tried to hold on till the end and become a hero. He thought to win in the end and celebrate by lifting the jersey. These targets have to be chased with an over to save themselves and not go all the way.“You can’t play the way India played in the middle, especially Tilak Varma, Dube and Axar. All their strike rates were bad. You have to settle down a bit and then start attacking in the middle. Otherwise you’re done if you fail in the middle. India lost the game in the middle. Tilak Varma was just playing for himself by sneaking in one and two. 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, and Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube and Axar Patel failed to score.“There was a phase when there was a 45-ball no-limit in the middle stage. How can you win a T20 match like that? It’s a shame that medicore Irish bowling ended this Indian batting line-up. Even in IPL, look how much those top Indian batsmen scored in Lucknow? Because in Lucknow, the wicket helped the swing and seam of the bowlers. Very few Indian bowlers batsmen scored in Lucknow, India should have attacked in the middle and fail all the way,” 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 series defeat against Ireland in the format.
