Bipin Dani
The recent incident of India and Rajasthan Royal off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s retiring out in one of the IPL matches has raised interest among two overseas players, who too were recorded in the same fashion.
Playing in the BPL (Bangladesh Premier League) for Cumilla Warriors (against Chattogram Challengers) on 31st December 2019, Bangladeshi bowler Sunzamul Islam was declared Retired Out. Interestingly, he even had not faced a single delivery.
“At the fall of my captain (Dawid Malan) wicket, I stepped on to the ground at my customary position (no. 9). I had just crossed the boundary rope (to reach at the wicket) when I heard our coach asking me to return to the pavilion and he sent Mujeeb Ur Rahman to face the last ball of the match”. Mujeeb hit a boundary and ultimately his team won the match. However, Sunzamul Islam may be the only player in the history to have been declared Retired Out without facing a ball.
Another interesting incident involves Bhutan’s Sonam Tobgay, who has been wrongly recorded retired out.
“Playing against Maldives in South Asian Games Men’s Cricket Competition in 2019, the middle order batsman left the wicket due to injury but the scorer has wrongly recorded it as Retired Out instead of Retired Not Out”, says Damber S Gurung, the CEO of the Bhutan Cricket Council Board.
Later, confirming to this Reporter, the 32-year-old batter Sonam Tobgay, who is now in the business of laying fibre optic cable, said, “I had not voluntarily sacrificed my wicket but it was due to the hamstring injury I had to leave the field”.
Explaining the law of retiring, Jonny Singer, the MCC’s Laws of Cricket Advisor says, “25.4.1 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.
, he adds,”25.4.3 If a batter retires for any reason other than as in 25.4.2 (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’.
“The relevant things to note are that Ashwin clearly did not meet the criteria for 25.4.2, so he would not have been permitted to return without permission of the opposing captain. Retiring out is permitted under the Laws”, the Advisor concluded. Sonam Tobgay, however, is not enthusiastic to write to the ICC to correct his entry in the scorebook.
