Ravichandran Ashwin on 'Retiring Out': These things happen quite frequently in football and we haven't cracked T20 yet
Ravichandran Ashwin spoke of the need to detach stigma from such moves and why retiring out should more prevalent in times to come.
Ravichandran Ashwin opened on his famous decision to retire-out in the closing stages of Rajasthan Royals' (RR) innings against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2022 last Sunday (April 3). The veteran off-spinner became the first batter in IPL history and only second in T20 cricket ever to be retired-out on tactical terms by his team.
Sent out to bat at No.6 to help Royals avert a collapse at 67 for 4 and partly to ensure next man in Riyan Parag has a more suited entry point in the end-overs, Ashwin struck a useful 28 off 23 balls in a critical 68-run partnership with Shimron Hetmyer.
But once his role had been fulfilled, the Rajasthan Royals think-tank led by head coach Kumar Sangakkara had a quick discussion with Ashwin and it was decided between both parties that he will walk back and ensure Parag can maximise the death-over phase along with Hetmyer.
With only 10 balls remaining in the innings, and a more capable power-hitter available at the other end, Hetmyer broke free and hit some crucial sixes to finish off the innings. From 135/5, RR ended 165/6 by the end of the 20th over, eventually winning the game by just 3 runs following their potentially game-transforming move.
Speaking of the same on his YouTube channel, R Ashwin divulged on what his mindset was at the point of deciding to run back to the shed and allow for Parag to come in. Ashwin said it was a "tactical" move, with the right intention to bring in a more capable power-hitter to the crease having accomplished his job of arresting the collapse as a make-shift No.6.
"Riyan Parag was the next batter and when that Gowtham (the bowler) over was finished, I gave myself some time, 5-6 balls, to see whether I hit a six or few fours (more, having hit Gowtham for two maximums)," Ashwin said.
"I threw the kitchen sink at it, but I couldn't get the timing going. If Riyan Parag could come in and smash even 2 sixes, it would be handful and so, it was a tactical decision," he explained.
Ravichandran Ashwin wants T20 cricket to take a cue from football
Having previously spoken of the need to bowl in partnerships and being willing to play the defensive job in tandem with a more attacking option in T20s, R Ashwin stressed the influence of understated players and their role behind a team's success.
"There is a popular saying, 'Behind every successful man, there is a woman'. Likewise, behind every successful sportsperson, there is an underrated player, who has done his job quietly and gone unnoticed," Ashwin said, likening himself to such a player after retiring out and allowing RR to maximise the end-overs phase.
The great off-spinner also gave an example from the sport of football, where player substitution and being able to play an indirect role in effecting a goal is recognised widely. Ashwin said while the wider diaspora hasn't cracked T20 as a different sport, day by day, it is heading the Football way through teams and players' willingness to break the conventions.
"T20 as a sport is heading where Football has reached. Just like they are using substitutes, what I did was similar," said the well-learnt sportsman. "We are late (in terms of employing such tactical moves. But I believe this (retire-out) will happen a lot more in the coming days. There won't be a stigma ( attached to it, anymore). This will happen more times."