Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin is known for his deep knowledge of the game and his out-of-the-box tactics on the field. Who can forget the time he ran out English batsman Jos Butler at the non-striker's end during the Indian Premier League (IPL) game in 2019 between Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab? The move, commonly known as 'Mankading' after Vinoo Mankad, who did it first in 1947 against Australia, is one of the more controversial moves in the game of cricket.
So, yesterday night, April 10, during the Indian Premier League game between Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants, Ravi Ashwin, who was batting in the 19th over for the Royals at 28 runs of 23 balls, simply walked off the field, making way for Riyan Parag to walk in and smash a six, which, along with Shimron Hetmeyer's destructive batting at the end, took the Royals to 165, which ended up being more than enough to defend on the day.
What happened when Ashwin walked off? Do the cricket rules allow it? When was it done before? We get you all the answers.
What is 'retired out'?
Simply put, it is one of the methods of dismissal in the game of cricket. It is when a batter voluntarily walks off the field during his innings, without the permission of the umpires, thereby giving up their wicket. The dismissal is officially noted and the next batter in the line-up is allowed to come and take their place.
How is it different from 'retired hurt'?
A batter is allowed to pause their innings in case of serious injury that incapacitates them for a while. In such a scenario, they are allowed to walk off the field and be replaced by the next batter in the line-up, without it being counted as a dismissal by the bowling side. The batter can come back at a later stage in the innings and continue batting. This is a relatively common occurrence in the game. This is prescribed under Law 25 of the Laws of Cricket as constructed by London's Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). It is to be noted that although retired hurt is the term used colloquially, the official term as described by the MCC is 'retired-not out'.
Can the batter return to the crease if they decide to 'retire out'?
Well, not unless the opposing captain consents to it. A decision to retire out is usually a tactical one to replace a batter with another, perhaps more suited to get the team through the situation. No opposition captain has thus far agreed to allow a retired out batter to resume their innings.
How many times has it happened before?
In the IPL, of course, yesterday's instance made Ravi Ashwin the first batter to be dismissed 'retired-out'. In international cricket, it was Sri Lanka who brought this method of dismissal to the fore back in 2001. In a Test match in Chittagong against Bangladesh, who were at that time a relatively weak test side, the Sri Lankan batsmen Marvan Atapattu, who scored 201 and Mahela Jayawardena who piled on 150 were called back to the dressing room by the team management who decided it was time to let other batters in the side make the most out of some poor bowling by Bangladesh. The two Sri Lankan batters were duly recorded retired-out. This is the only time in international cricket that this happened.
On a more sombre note, West Indian great Gordon Greenidge left the field during his innings of 154 in a test match against India in 1983 in order to visit his daughter who was breathing her last. That innings, however, was recorded as retired-not out, as a mark of respect.
