New Delhi: In the IPL clash between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) Sunday evening, a rather unique incident happened. Rajasthan Royals were struggling at 67-4 with 9.5 overs already bowled, when Ravichandran Ashwin was sent up the order, ahead of regular No 6 Riyan Parag to bat.
Ashwin played a match saving knock of 28 in 23 deliveries for his team Rajasthan Royals and stitched up a strong partnership of 68 runs along with Shimron Hetmyer, but after two balls of the 19th over, Ashwin walked off declaring himself "retired-out".
The move was aimed at bringing in pinch hitter Riyan Parag to bat so that Rajasthan Royals could finish the innings with a high score.
The decision of ‘retired-out’ makes Ashwin the first player in IPL to get out in such a fashion. The move has been hailed by the cricketing fraternity and fans.
Head coach Kumar Sangakkara was praise for Ashwin. While speaking to Reuters post match he said, "I thought the way Ashwin handled that situation, walking in under pressure, the way he batted to support the team, and then finally sacrificed himself in terms of being retired out, was just magnificent."
What Is Retired Out?
According to cricketing law, "A batsman 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 batman is marked as 'retired out' and this is considered a dismissal for the purposes of calculating a batting average."
With cricket becoming a fast paced game and people showing interest in the shorter format of it like IPLs, "retired out" might be used more often by players in the future.
Bhutan's Sonam Tongbay is the only batsman to be 'retired out' in an international match. This was against Maldives at the 2019 South Asian Games.