Rajasthan Royals decided to go ahead with IPL's first-ever tactical retirement and asked Ravichandran Ashwin to get back in the hut.
The Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Sunday (April 10) took a potentially game-transforming decision to retire-out Ravichandran Ashwin in the closing stages of their innings versus the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2022. Ashwin became the first player in the history of IPL to be retired-out on tactical terms.
The long advocated idea to retire-out a player going through an innings that may be hurting his team’s chances of maximising a phase was finally acted upon in the IPL at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
RR decided to call Ashwin back following an innings of 28 off 23 balls after the second ball of the 19th over in their innings, with the idea to send out their designated power-hitter Riyan Parag. From 135/5 at that point, RR finished 165/6 and eventually won the game by 4 runs.
It was a move set in stone following timely discussions between Ashwin and the RR team management, as explained later by head coach Kumar Sangakkara. The former Sri Lankan captain unveiled that both the think-tank and the player were willing to go through the move, breaking an important conventional barrier.
“It was a combination of both. It was the right time to do that, Ashwin himself was asking from the field as well, and we had discussed it just before that, as to what we would do,” Sangakkara said at the post-match presser, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
It was the most tactical move of the tournament. Sent out to bat at No.6 to try and help RR arrest a collapse from 67/4 in the tenth over and give Parag his most suited entry point, Ravichandran Ashwin stitched a critical 68-run partnership with Shimron Hetmyer.
But once that value was achieved and Ashwin had fulfilled the role assigned to him, the RR think-tank called him back in the hut, with the player himself willing for it and allowed Parag to walk in with ten balls remaining in their innings.
The Assam batter made just 8 off 4 balls but given his presence and the situation, Hetmyer now had greater luxury and the freedom to go for the boundaries. He hit some crucial sixes towards the end and helped RR reach a more competitive score for the track.
Hetmyer, interestingly, looked shocked and in disbelief when Ashwin sprinted back to the shed and stated his feelings to host broadcaster Star Sports in the mid-game interaction.
RR’s decision to retire-out Ravichandran Ashwin: what is the rule and will more teams follow suit?
While Hetmyer was taken by surprise, Sangakkara said Ravichandran Ashwin and the team management had it all well planned. They perhaps delayed their move by an over or two but that is a discussion for some other day. What matters for now is that this was a pioneering decision, one that could change T20 cricket for the better in years to follow.
Given that there are only 120 balls to maximise an innings with a more than enough 10 wickets in hand, it is strange that it took so long for a team in the game’s leading T20 league to come up with a tactical retire-out. Especially as the rules have never played a barrier to it.
Part of MCC law 25.4 pertaining to the ‘batters retiring’ in the middle of the innings, the point 25.4.1 states, “A batter may retire at any time during his/her innings when the ball is dead. The umpires, before allowing play to proceed, shall be informed of the reason for a batter retiring.”
In such a scenario, a batter may be allowed to resume his innings. But a batter is considered retired-out if such a move takes place without the umpire’s permission.
“A batter retires out if he retires without the umpire’s permission and does not have the permission of the opposing captain to resume his innings. If such a return does not occur, the batter is marked as ‘retired out’ and this is considered a dismissal for the purposes of calculating a batting average.”
Given the allowance in rules, and the need to maximise each phase of the innings in a short and sharp format like T20, this form of dismissal should’ve been prevalent by now in the game.
A batter sticking to the crease longer than he should and conceding balls to the opposition is hazardous for sides. Yet, teams have felt wary of reactions outside before going ahead and retiring-out such players in the middle of their innings.
After championing the cause for run-outs at the non-striker’s end and helping detach the taboo around it, the legend of Ravichandran Ashwin may have also led to a paradigm shift in T20 cricket with his tactical retire-out.
