Former India player turned commentator Mohammad Kaif shared his disappointment over Team India batter Tilak Varma’s dismissal in the T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 match against South Africa as well. He got out on one run off two balls in India’s 76-run defeat at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

He said in his YouTube video: “Tilak Varma has his own way of playing. He can afford to play with a slow strike rate. However, he got out while playing a big shot. There was pressure building on him for the strike rate. As a player, you do keep track of what is being said. But it is the job of the management to ask the player to stick to his role. He should play Virat Kohli’s role. He moved away from his gameplay by stepping out and going for a big shot. You’ll never be able to play if you listen to what others are saying.”

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“To become a chase master, you will have to first bat till the 20th over. Tilak Varma got out early, trying to hit. What is your role? Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Rinku Singh play attacking cricket. There should be at least one player who takes the game deep,” he further added.

However, Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar also looked unimpressed by Tilak Varma’s dismissal. He stated that there was no need to play a big shot when a wicket had just fallen.

Gavaskar told Star Sports after the game (via India Today): “Yes, I think he’s been a very street-smart batter. I was a little disappointed with his approach today because, look, a wicket had already fallen. Yes, the required rate was 9.5 runs an over, but it wasn’t like you were chasing 15 runs an over.”