Badrinath made comments on Krunal Pandya's cramps. PC- AP
After the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (CSK) defeated the Mumbai Indians (MI), they topped the IPL 2026 Points Table. Krunal Pandya was credited for RCB's jaw-dropping victory, but his great knock became a point of scrutiny.
Krunal played the knock of his life, battling through cramps and blows on the midriff, to score a 46-ball 73 on a day when faster bowlers flexed more than the batters.
Came into bat at 39/3, when RCB lost the prized wickets of Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal and Captain Rajat Patidar. Not only did he revive the innings with a special partnership with Jacob Bethell, but he was able to hit boundaries on will against his former IPL team.
However, the all-rounder was dismissed when RCB were just 18 runs away from victory. After his departure, Romario Shepherd struggled for a bit, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar's stunning six off the last over sealed the deal.
Badrinath issues clarification for his controversial claims on Krunal Pandya
Although Bhuvneshwar Kumar bagged the Player of the Match award for his solid four-fer, Krunal Pandya was the mainstay for the defending champions in Raipur on Sunday. However, despite all efforts, Krunal's knock became a point of controversy.
As the all-rounder was cramping after reaching his half-century, Subramaniam Badrinath, on Tamil commentary, allegedly stated, "Let him die there" when MI's keeper Ryan Rickelton was seen stretching his cramping leg.
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However, the former CSK cricketer has issued a clarification after his comments went viral on social media.
'“Let him die there”… that’s not going to be my attitude. I will go and stretch him. Great gesture from Ryan Rickelton.. Fair Play points should be given to him and MI for that. This is what I said on air, for people who don’t understand colloquial Tamil. 🙏' - Subramaniam Badrinath posted on his X handle.
IPL fans, especially RCB's admirers, were left furious after Badrinath's comments were shared on social media.
Badrinath and RCB's love-hate affair
Subramaniam Badrinath, a legend for CSK, played the first six seasons of the IPL for the Chennai-based franchise, winning two titles with the Yellow Army. Since then, the Chennai-born has been a CSK loyalist.
Over the years, the former CSK cricketer has mocked Bengaluru for not winning a title in 18 years. He even ridiculed RCB's Virat Kohli on a live chat with Albie Morkel for bowling a 28-run over against the former South African.
Did Badrinath play for RCB?
Interestingly, Subramaniam Badrinath was picked by RCB in IPL 2015, but didn’t feature in a single game.
Meanwhile, for CSK, the left-handed batter played 95 IPL matches and 19 games in the Champions League. Across the two leagues, he scored 1,667 runs, including 12 half-centuries.
He has also earned two Test caps and played 7 ODIs for India. However, he could only score a solitary fifty in his international career.
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