Mohammad Kaif has lashed out at the teams over the growing trend of retiring out the struggling batters mid-innings in the ongoing IPL 2025. The tactic is under fire for being a move of desperation rather than strategy, and now Mohammad Kaif sparked a fresh debate over the trend.
It all started when Mumbai Indians shocked fans by retiring out Tilak Varma during their clash against Lucknow Super Giants. Chennai Super Kings didn’t wait long to follow suit, pulling Devon Conway out in their match against Punjab Kings. But instead of turning the tide, both teams crashed to defeats.
Both Tilak Varma’s and Devon Conway’s sluggish innings forced their respective teams to make use of the rule with the hope of winning the game by introducing a fresh batter. Kaif was not really impressed by the decision-making, pointing out how such moves often backfire.
The former Indian batter has noted that teams are now relying on new batters to walk in and deliver magic from ball one instead of trusting a struggling batter to bounce back, but this gamble rarely pays off. Kaif also cited the example of Rahul Tewatia’s iconic turnaround.
He feels the teams are making rash calls that ultimately cost them the game. Notably, Tewatia hit five sixes in an over off Sheldon Cottrell and helped Rajasthan Royals win the IPL 2020 game against Punjab Kings.
Mohammad Kaif posted on X: “Teams using the retired-out option more out of frustration. It is a tactic that rarely works, as there are very few batters who can hit a 6 on the first ball they face. Most times it is the struggling batsman on the crease who has a better chance of winning the game. Remember Tewatia? He hit 5 sixes in 5 balls after he had made 8 runs off 19 balls.”
