Superstar Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has once again divided opinion with a clever yet rare tactic in the Indian Premier League.
Ashwin is no stranger to attracting controversy on the field, but there’s no doubt he is one of the game’s students and deep thinkers.
He’s now become the first batter to retire out in the Indian Premier League.
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Ashwin hit 23 off 23 deliveries for his Rajasthan Royals, before walking off the field to allow teammate Riyan Parag to come to the crease.
It shocked spectators and confused commentators at the time, but it turned out to be a masterstroke.
The Royals beat the Lucknow Super Giants in the final over of the game, with the Ashwin retirement proving a crucial tactic.
Aussie batting legend Matthew Hayden described it as “brilliant” while Royals coach and Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara later explained how it happened.
“It was a combination of both (Ashwin and I),” he said.
“It was the right time to do that. Ashwin himself was asking from the field and we had discussed it just before that as to what we would do.
“The way Ashwin handled that situation, the way he batted, supported the team, and then sacrificed himself of being retired out, was just magnificent.
“Then he went out on the field and backed it up with an excellent bowling effort.”
Cricket laws allow any batter to retire their innings at any time. If you retire hurt you are permitted to resume your innings later, but retiring out means you are choosing to end your own innings.
It’s almost never seen in professional cricket and had never been done in the IPL before Ashwin employed it.
Aussie cricket great Ricky Pointing has previously spoken about employing the rule more, especially in Twenty20 cricket.
“I think it’s only a matter of time before it happens, but I’m not sure I’m going to be the first coach that does it,” Ponting said in December.
“It’s eventually going to happen, but it’s a conversation that has to be had with the players before the game starts – if they are getting a bit behind with their strike rate, they need to either put the foot right down or get out.”
Some sections of the cricket world were against the Ashwin retirement, but the consensus was the move was genius.
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