Rajasthan Royals made a surprising tactical decision in today’s game against Lucknow SuperGiants as Ravichandran Ashwin was retired out by the captain. During the 19th over of RR’s innings, Ashwin was called back to the pavilion and Riyan Parag was sent in to hit a few crucial boundaries for his team. And to prove his skipper’s decision right, Parag did hit a six in the last over but only to get out on the very next ball. RR’s decision to retire Ashwin was one of the rarest things seen in IPL, but it could pave way for more such incidents in the coming seasons.
I had no idea about it. He was also a bit tired. It was a good decision, as the kid (Parag) hit a six for us.
Shimron Hetmyer on Ashwin’s retirement during mid-innings press conference
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Ravichandran Ashwin Surprisingly Retired Out By Rajasthan Royals
Amidst the Ashwin-Parag saga, it was Shimron Hetmyer who stole the limelight as he played a great knock of 59 runs off just 36 deliveries to pull his team out of danger. The Royals were struggling by the 10th over mark as they had just 67 runs on the board with four wickets down but Hetmyer’s inning ensured that his team reached a respectable total. Ashwin was, strangely, sent over Riyan after the fall of the 4th wicket. He was entrusted to stabilize the team by holding onto one end and supporting Hetmyer till the end. While Hetmyer was struggling to connect the ball, Ashwin smashed Gowtham for back-to-back sixes to ease out the pressure from the southpaw.
Though RR’s move to retire their batter was something rare for the viewers, it wasn’t new to them. The latest such incident took place as recently as during the Big Bash League 2021-22. During the BBL Challenger Final, Sydney Sixers’ Jordan Silk was retired by his captain when the team needed 2 runs off the last ball of the match. One of the primary reasons behind this decision was Silk’s hamstring injury. It will be interesting to see when do the fans get to witness another such “dismissal” again.
