Ryan Rickelton (L) and Krunal Pandya© AFP
Former Chennai Super Kings and Indian cricket team batter S Badrinath found himself in the middle of a brewing controversy over a comment he made on commentary during the IPL 2026 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Mumbai Indians on Sunday. Krunal Pandya looked in brilliant form with the bat for RCB, but he suffered from cramps during his knock and went down on the ground in visible pain. While MI wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton rushed to help him, Badrinath jokingly said that it was a brilliant gesture from the South African international, as the attitude from the opposition could have been “let him die in cramps”. The comment did not go down well with a section of social media users who slammed him for his language and even criticised him for using such words while commentating during an IPL match.
However, Badrinath took to social media to give his side of the story and pointed out that he was just trying to point out the brilliant gesture from Rickelton. He added that it could have been a case of misinterpretation, as he used ‘colloquial Tamil’.
Here is the translation of S Badrinath’s commentary from yesterday…. he said, “it’s ok if opposition says, hey die in cramps.”….. how shameless someone could be pic.twitter.com/WRu5owS6RA
— King In The North(@KingInThe2North) May 11, 2026
“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,” the former India cricketer posted on X (formerly Twitter).
“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.
— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) May 11, 2026
It was an innings of a lifetime for tKrunal as he showcased immense grit, courage and calmness during a tricky 167-run chase at a spicy Raipur pitch, scoring 73 in 46 balls, with four boundaries and five sixes, while battling immense pain due to cramps.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru went on to win the match by 2 wickets in a last-ball thriller.
(With agency inputs)
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