Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday became the first player in the Indian Premier League history to be dismissed retired out.
In Rajasthan Royals’ IPL 2022 game against Lucknow Super Giants, Ashwin left the ground midway during his batting to give Riyan Parag a chance to come out to bat in his place and score runs at a brisk pace.
The off-spinner was batting on 28 off 23 balls, helped by two fours when he took the decision. Notably, RR were in a precarious state of 67/4 when Ashwin stepped in and stitched a much-needed partnership with Shimron Hetmyer. However, when he took RR out of hot water, he decided to do something that none of the batters ever did in IPL.
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Not only in the cash-rich Indian tournament, even at world level very few batters have done so. Ashwin is the fourth player in the T20 cricket history to be retired out in a match. The other three players are Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, S Tobagy from Bhutan and Sunzamul Islam of Cummila Warriors.
Meanwhile, Ashwin’s batting partner Hetmyer, who scored 59 not out off 36 balls to guide Delhi Capitals to 165/6, revealed that he had no idea if it was a tactical move from Ashwin.
“I had no idea about it (Ashwin’s retirement) – he was also a bit tired. It was a good decision, as the kid (Parag) hit a six for us,” Hetmyer said after DC’s innings ended.
