Krunal Pandya made 73 runs to help RCB chase down 166 in a low-scoring thriller.
Former India and Tamil Nadu player S. Badrinath faced severe backlash online for his rather unfortunate on-air remark on Krunal Pandya during the recent IPL 2026 game between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) on May 10.
This game was played in Raipur and saw MI post 166/7 thanks to a fifty by Naman Dhir and 47 by Tilak Varma. Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 4 wickets to rattle the MI top order.
In response, Deepak Chahar and Corbin Bosch destroyed the RCB top order, and Krunal Pandya stabilized the innings with a crafty 73. The game finished as a nail-biter as Bhuvneshwar Kumar hit a six in the last over to bring the equation down from 9 off 3 to 3 off 2 runs.
Then, Rasikh Salam and Bhuvneshwar scampered for a quick double on the final ball to win the game by 2 wickets for RCB. This loss eliminated MI from the race for the IPL playoffs.
Meanwhile, during the game, Krunal Pandya was cramping severely as he battled for RCB in the middle. After hitting a shot, Pandya lay on the ground and was crying out in pain when MI keeper Ryan Rickelton rushed to help him and stretched his legs.
However, Badrinath, who was on commentary duty in the Tamil language, was heard saying on air that he would've thought about 'letting him die' in the context of the game.
Seeing him fall because of the cramp issue, Badrinath said, "Look, there, he already had a cramp in his leg... it's as if the opposition said, 'Hey, you die from that cramp!'—but - but even then, it's okay (Rickelton helped him)."
This led to Badrinath receiving severe backlash from fans on social media, who were not happy with the words he had used for Krunal Pandya.
A day after the game, on May 11, 2026, Badrinath took to X and issued a clarification on his remarks on Krunal Pandya. Finally speaking out about the issue, Badrinath has clarified his remarks from the Tamil commentary.
He claimed that even though the game was close and Krunal was the difference between the two teams, he was praising Rickelton for supporting Pandya. He further stated that Rickelton and the Mumbai Indians should receive fair play points for supporting Krunal and prioritizing the athlete's spirit.
“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,” Badrinath wrote on X.
RCB will next face KKR in Raipur on May 13, while MI will face off against PBKS in Dharamshala on May 14