Ravichandran Ashwin has stated that T20 cricket is headed the same way as football after retiring during a TATA IPL game between Rajasthan Royals(RR) and Gujarat Titans(GT).
In this TATA IPL 2022 game, Ashwin was sent in to bat at No. 6 in the tenth over to provide Riyan Parag to bat with freedom eventually in the innings. Although, after securing 28 off 23 deliveries, Ashwin retired with ten balls left in the innings.
The move has been the primary instance of a tactical replacement in cricket. Replacements are a big part of football and are used by managers to bring about tactical modification.
Speaking on his Official YouTube channel, Ashwin stated that cricket was headed in the same direction as football:
“It might work sometimes, and it might not work sometimes. These things constantly happen in football, and we haven’t cracked T20 cricket fully yet. This is a millennial sport, and this is the next generation’s sport. If you see in football, Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo score goals frequently. But their team’s goalkeeper should also save goals, and their defenders should defend well. Only then a Messi or Ronaldo will be in the limelight.”
He added:
“T20, as a sport, is heading towards where football has reached. Like how they’re using substitutions, I did something similar [retiring out]. Already we’re late, but I believe this will happen a lot in the coming days. I don’t think it will be a stigma like running someone out at the non-striker’s end.”
Ravichandran Ashwin and innovations in cricket
Cricket has often been seen as a traditionalist sport that likes to hold on to its venerable traditions. Although the game has evolved in the last decades, T20 cricket is an extremely different format from the standard multi-day version.
In football, replacement allows a manager to bring about immediate change in tactics, support with injuries, etc. Some players are further considered better to bring on when the opposition is tired.
When it happens to T20 cricket, there are several ways in which quick changes can change a match’s course. The death overs are considered ideal for power-hitting, and particular players are better prepared to play them.
Protecting those performers for the more crucial phases of the innings can support teams in post bigger totals.
#IPL2022: Can the #RetiredOut dismissal of #RaviAshwin be seen more regularly in #T20 cricket? Why not, argues @gulf_news @GBGulf1 @aksatish14 @ShyamKris_ @IPL @rajasthanroyals https://t.co/tLjFpRqXwR
— Gulf News Sport (@GulfNewsSport) April 13, 2022
Ravichandran Ashwin has in the past also established a huge debate over a well-established meeting of the game. The form of dismissal informally referred to as ‘Mankading’ was brought into the focus when he ran out Jos Buttler at the non-striker’s end in the 2019 VIVO IPL.
Just now, the MCC, a body that owns the laws of cricket, decided to move this form of removal from the ‘Unfair Play’ section of the laws to the ‘Runout’ section.