Ravichandran Ashwin of Rajasthan Royals surprised everyone on Sunday when he decided to retire out to allow the next batter of his team to come in early during their match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). This was the first occasion in IPL history that a player chose to retire out from a game. Riyan Parag came in and batted in the slog overs alongside Shimron Hetmyer after Ashwin stepped out in the 19th over, scoring 28 runs off 23 balls at a strike rate of 121.73.

Rajasthan Royals eventually won the match by 3 runs, following which Ashwin's decision to walk off was hailed by his teammates. RR captain Sanju Samson acknowledged after the game that it was a tactical move made in the team's best interests. When Hetmyer was asked about the incident after the first innings, he said "I had no idea about it (Ashwin's retirement) - he was also a bit tired. It was a good decision, as the kid (Parag) hit a six for us."

Other instances of players retiring out in a cricket match

In cricket, there aren't many examples of players retiring out. The dismissal method is so uncommon that it has only been seen twice in Test cricket and once in a T20 international match. Former Sri Lankan cricketers Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene are the only two players to have been dismissed retired out in Tests. Both incidents occurred during a match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in 2001.

Sonam Togbay of Bhutan is the only player to be dismissed retired out in T20Is. It happened during a match between Bhutan and the Maldives in 2019. 

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was also dismissed retired out during a tour match against Northamptonshire in 2010. It was the first time in a T20 match that a batsman was retired out. Sunzamul Islam was retired out in a Bangladesh Premier League match between Cumilla Warriors and Chattogram Challengers in 2019. It was the second occasion in a men's T20 match that a batter was retired out, the third being Ashwin's dismissal on Sunday.

Image: iplt20.com/BCCI