Former Indian Test opener Sadagopan Ramesh slammed Tilak Varma for his brain-fade moment in the third T20I against the West Indies at the Holkar Stadium, Indore, on Sunday. In the 17th over of the innings, Axar Patel flicked a ball towards the deep fine-leg boundary and he, along with Tilak Varma thought it had reached the ropes.
However, Kamil Pooran had stopped the ball and threw to the keeper’s end. Patel was quick to notice the same and reached his end at the striker’s end after fist-bumping with Varma but the Indian vice-captain wasn’t aware and didn’t get back into his crease before Gudakesh Motie got rid of the bails at the non-striker’s end. Varma was dismissed after scoring 28 runs off 16 balls and his dismissal left India in trouble.
Sadagopan Ramesh said on his Instagram handle, “When the umpires themselves are referring it upstairs because of how far they are from the boundary, how did Tilak Varma and Axar Patel, who are at the same distance, decide it’s a boundary? At least Axar Patel eventually became aware. Tilak Varma looked like he was taking a walk on the beach. He had no clue about what was happening around him.”
“Normally, for any boundary saves, the umpires instantly go to the third umpire. The main reason for that is the huge distance between the wicket, where the umpire is, and the boundary. Because they aren’t sure if the fielder made contact, they wait, which means the ball is still in play.”
The former flamboyant batter believes this incident will stick in everyone’s mind despite India’s 14-run win.
“Despite so many high moments in the match, the highlight was Tilak Varma’s run-out. Though India won the game and went 2-1 up, only this sticks in our minds. That’s how rare such scenes are in cricket,” said Ramesh (via the aforementioned source).
The fourth T20I between India and the West Indies will be played at Hyderabad on Wednesday.
