Former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth criticised Tilak Varma following India’s shocking one-run defeat 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 walked in to bat. The 23-year-old tried to steady the innings but managed only a slow-paced 55 off 46 balls. The rest of the batting line-up also struggled as India fell one run short, suffering a 0-2 series defeat.Criticising Tilak and the other batters on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth said, “Tilak Varma tried to take it till the end and become the hero. He thought of winning it in the end and celebrate by lifting his jersey. These targets have to be chased down with an over to spare and not go till the end.“You can’t play the way India did in the middle phase, especially Tilak Varma, Dube and Axar. All their strike rates were poor. You have to stabilize a bit and then start attacking in the middle phase. Otherwise, you’ll be finished if you fail in the middle phase. India lost the game in the middle phase. Tilak Varma was just playing for himself by sneaking in ones and twos. Axar Patel was the same.”Tilak had also struggled in the first T20I, scoring 21 off 19 balls as India lost by 34 runs.Srikkanth also criticised India’s approach during the middle overs of the second T20I. The visitors went seven overs without hitting a single boundary, with Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube and Axar Patel unable to score freely.“There was a stage when there were 45 balls without a boundary in the middle phase. How can you win a T20 match like that? It’s shameful that a medicore Ireland bowling has finished this Indian batting lineup. Even in the IPL, look at how many of these top Indian batters scored in Lucknow? Because in Lucknow, the wicket helped the swing and seam bowlers. Very few Indian batters scored in Lucknow. India needed to attack in the middle and not take it till the end,” said Srikkanth.Before this series, India had won all eight of their previous T20Is against Ireland. The 0-2 defeat marked India’s first-ever series loss to Ireland in the format.
