IPL 2022: Ravichandran Ashwin became the first player to retire out in the history of the tournament.© BCCI/IPL
Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday became the first player to retire out in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and this move is being hailed within the cricketing fraternity. In the 19th over of Rajasthan Royals innings, Ashwin decided to retire out, paving the way for Riyan Parag to come out and start going after the bowling right away. Parag then scored eight runs off four balls, and in the end, Rajasthan Royals went on to win the match by three runs.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Ashwin opened up on his mindset behind retiring out in a crucial juncture of the game and how it is an important aspect of the game which has not been considered earlier.
“It was an in the moment thing. It’s a team game that we often forget in the euphoria. But then it’s an important aspect of the game we haven’t considered,” Ashwin told Cricbuzz.
“T20 is more a team game than we all know. It is almost as much as football. The goal scorers are like your opening batter or wicket-takers. But they are worth it only if your goalkeeper or defenders are ready to do what it takes,” he stated further.
Ashwin had scored 28 off 23 balls against the Lucknow Super Giants before willingly retiring out in the 19th over.
Bhutan’s Sonam Tongbay is the only batter to be ‘retired out’ in an international match, as he walked off against Maldives at the 2019 South Asian Games.
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West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite hailed Ashwin’s move, and he believes that more teams may employ the tactic in Twenty20 cricket.
“I think it was gutsy from Rajasthan. I think moving forward, it’s something we’ll probably see a lot more of … It’s something that will become a part of the game,” Brathwaite told ESPNcricinfo.
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