Former India leg-spinner Murali Kartik took aim at Tilak Varma\u2019s body language during the IPL 2026 clash between the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur on Sunday night. The criticism came after a moment of visible tension between Mumbai batters during RCB\u2019s innings, with match cameras catching an argument involving Tilak and Naman Dhir.<\/p>\n
The incident unfolded in the second delivery of the 18th over. Krunal Pandya lofted the ball into the air off Allah Ghazanfar\u2019s bowling, sending it toward the mid-on fence. Naman moved to the boundary and collected the catch near the rope, but at the point where he was about to reach the boundary cushion, he redirected the ball toward Tilak.<\/p>\n
Tilak failed to secure the return throw, apparently believing the ball was going to clear the boundary for six. Instead of quickly firing the ball back to the field of play, Tilak engaged in an animated exchange with Naman, and the back-and-forth continued for a few seconds before both players realised the immediate situation. By the time they adjusted, Naman had not completed the catch as required, and Mumbai lost a prime opportunity to dismiss Tilak there and then.<\/p>\n
Kartik was particularly harsh on what he called an unnecessary \u201cfight\u201d in the middle of play, arguing that the priority should have been getting the ball back into action rather than engaging in a confrontation.<\/p>\n
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Kartik said it was difficult to judge everything from afar, even for someone working as a commentator. He added that when big teams struggle, such incidents often become easy targets, but stressed that one specific moment had left him unhappy.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou spoke about the catch that Naman Dhir should have taken, just that interaction at that point in time. It wasn\u2019t needed,\u201d Kartik said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t take a single, and they didn\u2019t take a run because Krunal was cramping at that time. But you don\u2019t need a fight in the middle or a bit of an altercation or argument. As Naman Dhir suggested, you should be throwing the ball. I don\u2019t know whether that\u2019s reflective of anything, but that is something that shouldn\u2019t have happened,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
While focusing on the immediate flashpoint, Kartik also pointed to the broader atmosphere around Mumbai Indians. He suggested the latest episode would only add fuel to the speculation already circulating around the franchise.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, there have been a million murmurs going around,\u201d Kartik remarked. \u201cYes, there are things which haven\u2019t happened, and yes, the last three years haven\u2019t gone the way MI would have wanted. But for me, I didn\u2019t want to see what I saw today. All of us are pretty intense on the ground, but at the time, where common sense and cricket smarts need to take over,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He further stressed the timing of the disagreement, saying it should not happen at a crucial point of the match, especially near the boundary area. \u201cAt a crucial stage, you don\u2019t want two people to have an argument at the end of the boundary rope. You don\u2019t want to see that,\u201d Kartik added.<\/p>\n
Mumbai Indians were ultimately knocked out of the IPL 2026 playoff race after losing to RCB by two wickets. Suryakumar Yadav captained the franchise in the previous two matches, with Hardik Pandya missing the games due to a back spasm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former India leg-spinner Murali Kartik took aim at Tilak Varma\u2019s body language during the IPL 2026 clash between the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Murali Kartik Criticizes Tilak Varma in RCB vs MI IPL","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Murali Kartik reacts to Tilak Varma\u2019s body language after an RCB vs MI spat with Naman Dhir in IPL 2026, sparking debate.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n