What is retired out in cricket?

Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday became the first cricketer in the IPL and fourth overall to be declared retired out. The Rajasthan Royals player was called off the field in the 19th over vs the Lucknow Super Giants when he was batting on 28 runs in 23 balls. 

Ashwin smashed two maximums before being replaced by a 20-year-old Riyan Parag, who scored eight runs off four deliveries. The Royals scored 165 runs in the first innings. 

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“Ashwin retired out is fascinating T20 tactics. T20 is causing us to rethink the way we conceive the game of in the 21st century,” Ian Bishop reacted to Ashwin being retired out. 

“Retired OUT….it was only a matter of time we saw it in the #IPL2022 Makes a lot of sense,” former Australia women’s cricketer Lisa Sthalekar tweeted.

“Retire-Out. First of many. De-stigmatise it,” former India opener Aakash Chopra said on Twitter. 

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What is retired out?

In cricket, a player can retire from his innings when the balls is dead. He/she will be replaced by a teammate who is yet to be dismissed. Batsmen are called off due to several reasons like injury, illness etc. These batsmen have the option to resume their innings later.

In Ashwin’s case, the team might have replaced him because of the need for a hard-hitter – Riyan Parag – in the death overs. 

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Retired out is a legal mode of dismissal: 

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’.”

“A batter may retire at any time during his/her innings when the ball is dead. The umpires, before allowing play to proceed, shall be informed of the reason for a batter retiring.,” states the ICC’s law.