Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara revealed the discussions leading into his team’s potentially game-transforming decision to tactically retire-out Ravichandran Ashwin in the IPL 2022 clash against Lucknow Super Giants.
On April 10, Ashwin became the first-ever player to be tactically retired out in the tournament’s history. Batting on 28 off 23 at the time, RR decided to retire-out their No.6 as they looked to maximise the remaining 10 balls left in the first half.
Pioneering a change that had been long advocated from outside but not applied by any IPL side up until now, Sangakkara said, both the team management and Ashwin were willing to go through the move, not fearing what the traditionalists may have to say.
“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,”
he said at the post-match press conference, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
RR skipper Sanju Samson also backed the decision taken in a critical situation by Ashwin and the management, saying it also echoes the brand of cricket Royals would love to continue playing, and they aren’t shy from doing things differently.
Ashwin walking in at No.6 and then coming back just before the finish of the innings reflects the ever-evolving tactical side of T20 cricket. Promoted to arrest a collapse in the 10th over with his solid defensive play and to allow RR’s designated power-hitter Riyan Parag a more suited entry point, Ashwin stitched an important partnership of 68 runs with Shimron Hetmyer.
Once the role assigned to Ashwin was fulfilled, and his innings looked like hurting RR’s death-overs ambitions, the think-tank showed no hesitation in calling him back, with the player also quite admirably championing the cause for it.
When Ashwin went back, RR were 135/4 at 18.2 over mark, having arrested the collapse and now eyeing a grand finish. Parag made eight off four balls, but his presence at the other end and the situation gave Hetmyer greater luxury to go for it big. The left-hander went on a six-hitting spree and helped the Royals reach 165/6. They eventually won the game by four runs.
Also read 👉 Debutant Kuldeep Sen defends 15 in last over to seal win for Rajasthan Royals
Speaking to host broadcaster Star Sports in the middle of the innings, Hetmyer said he had no idea that Ashwin is about to retire out on tactical terms. The West Indies player wore a look of shock and disbelief as to what had happened even in the middle of the ground when he saw Ashwin sprint back to the pavilion ahead of the 19th over.
Given the nature of T20 cricket, where teams have 10 wickets to maximise only 120 balls, it is strange that it took so long for an IPL side to do the first tactical retire-out. Prudent experts have been calling for the same, especially as the rules of the game don’t play a barrier to such an eventuality.
“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,”
reads out the law pertinent to retiring out batters.
Notably, this is not the first time a player has been retired-out in all T20 cricket. Back in 2019 South Asian Games, Bhutan decided to retire-out Sonam Togbay in their game against the Maldives.
