New Delhi: Former India captain Krishnamachari Srikanth slammed vice-captain Tilak Varma for his selfish knock in the 2nd T20I against Ireland in Belfast on Sunday. India lost the 2nd T20I by 1 run against Ireland to lose the two-match series 2-0, suffering their first-ever series defeat against the hosts across any format of the game.

Srikkanth said Tilak “wanted to be a hero” and was playing for himself as he called out his sluggish knock in the decisive encounter. The left-hander scored 55 runs off 46 balls in a losing cause as India failed to chase down the target of 155 runs in Belfast to lose the game by 1 run.

Tilak came out to bat at no.5 for India when the visitors were reeling at 19/3 after losing their top three cheaply. The left-hander started cautiously as he tried to steady the ship, but failed to up the ante when required. With the likes of Shivam Dube and Axar Patel also failing to deliver, India eventually fell short in the run chase.

“You can’t play the way India did in the middle phase, especially Tilak Varma, (Shivam) Dube and Axar (Patel). All their strike rates were poor. You have to stabilise a bit and then start attacking in the middle phase. Otherwise, you’ll be finished if you fail in the middle phase,” Srikkanth said in a video on his YouTube channel after India’s 2-0 series loss.

Srikanth also accused Tilak of trying to become a hero by taking the game to the end and said the target should have been chased down with an over to spare despite the poor start from the top order.

“Tilak Varma was just playing for himself by sneaking in ones and twos. He tried to take it to the end and become the hero. He thought of winning it in the end and celebrating by lifting his jersey. These targets have to be chased down with an over to spare and not go till the end,” Srikkanth added.