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Ravichandran Ashwin (Source: BCCI/IPL)
The 20th game of the Indian T20 league 2022 saw Rajasthan take on Lucknow. While the match saw a lot of twists and turns, one of the major talking points of the game was a "retired out". During the first innings, Ravichandran Ashwin became the first cricketer in the history of the league to be tactically retired out.
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The move worked out as Ashwin scored a crucial 28 from 23 balls. Although it sparked a huge debate, what the bowling all-rounder did was well within the rules. It is mentioned in the rule book of cricket's governing body as well. As per the rules, a batter is allowed to get himself retired out in the shortest format of the game.
Sanju Sanson drew light on the same as well. During the post-match presentation, he mentioned that this was something they were speaking about prior to the season as well.
“We keep trying different things (on Ashwin’s retired-out). Have been talking about it before the season. We thought that if some situation occurs, we can use it. Was a team decision,” said Sanju Samson. When Shimron Hetmyer was asked about Ashwin getting retired out, he revealed that he had no idea about the same
According to MCC Law 25.4.3, 'if a batter retires for any reason other than as in 25.4.2 (retires because of illness, injury or any other unavoidable cause), the innings of that batter may be resumed only with the consent of the opposing captain. If for any reason his/her innings is not resumed, that batter is to be recorded as 'Retired - out’.'
Besides, Ashwin isn't the first batter to get retired out in T20s. The batters to do it before him include the likes of Shahid Afridi. The following list includes all the players to have been retired out in T20 cricket:
Shahid Afridi - Pakistanis vs Northants Tour Match, 2010
R Ashwin - Rajasthan vs Lucknow Indian T20 league 2022
Sonam Tobgay - Bhutan vs Maldives T20I, 2010
Sunzamul Islam - Cumilla Warriors vs Chattogram Challengers, Bangladesh Premier League, 2019