Memes rain on Twitter after Ashwin becomes first player to get ‘retired out’ in IPL

Ashwin has become the first player in the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) 14-year history to “retire out”. Before Ashwin, only three other cricketers, Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, Bhutan’s Sonam Tobgay, and Bangladesh’s Sunzamul Islam, had opted for “retiring out”.

Ashwin’s decision impressed many cricket lovers who were not aware of this rule. Soon, Twitter was flooded with memes and jokes praising Ashwin.

According to rules laid by the International Cricket Council (ICC), a batsman can choose to retire anytime during their innings when the “ball is dead” after informing the umpires. “Dead ball” is a technical term that loosely means a time during the match when both teams are not playing.

💬 💬 Hear what @KumarSanga2, Director of Cricket, @rajasthanroyals had to say about @ashwinravi99 getting retired out. #TATAIPL | #RRvLSG pic.twitter.com/NyRnomw7Xq

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 10, 2022

First ever in #IPL history. Retired out, who else but #Ashwin

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 10, 2022

No one :

Ravichandran Ashwin preparing for the match…..#ravichandranashwin #RetiredOut pic.twitter.com/CWiO5ajRsJ

— ckat (@Chinmay_46) April 11, 2022

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 Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) April 10, 2022

R Aswin before every IPL Season 🤣 #IPL #RetiredOut #LSGvsRR pic.twitter.com/7p5WDe2Cfl

— Vishnu N Nair (@vishnunnair007) April 10, 2022

Ashwin added new dimensions to cricket rule book in every season #RetiredOut….
Le cricket fans – pic.twitter.com/enCcuEGD71

— memes_hallabol (@memes_hallabol) April 11, 2022

I am pretty sure @ashwinravi99 reads ICC rule books in his free time, so that he can come up with new ways to legally exploit it. He is an absolute genius. #Ashwin #RRvsLSG #RetiredOut

— Harsh Singh (@harsh27402571) April 11, 2022

Ashwin is the Sheldon Cooper to cricket !!!
Knows everything #RetiredOut #IPL #LSGvRR #BigBangTheory pic.twitter.com/WkOUoX69am

— Chinmoy Jyoti (@budhaism) April 10, 2022

If not an cricketer then @ashwinravi99 would’ve been definitely an excellent lawyer.
He knows every loop hole in a rule book and use it legally in favour of him and his team.
Bet even people who wrote those rules wouldn’t remember them.#IPL2022 #Ashwin #RetiredOut #IPL pic.twitter.com/c0CmXPjTTI

— Raghu (@P_Raghu_) April 10, 2022

After Seeing Ravichandran Ashwin’s
Novel way of Excusing himself from the Slog Reactions of Other #IPL
Players be like#RetiredOut#Ashwin#RRvLSG#RRvsLSG pic.twitter.com/xJj7q6xze1

— MTvalluvan (@MTvalluvan) April 11, 2022

#Retiredout ashwin@ashwinravi99@IPL
Ashwin in every ipl 😁😁 pic.twitter.com/AdXuxCS8Af

— 🅺🅰🅵🅵🅸🆁 (@hustleaman) April 11, 2022

After the match, Rajasthan Royal’s coach Kumara Sangakkara told the media that the decision was discussed amongst the team members before. Sangakkara also praised Ashwin’s performance and presence of mind. “I thought the way Ashwin handled that situation, walking in under pressure, the way he batted to support the team, and then finally sacrificed himself in terms of being retired out, was just magnificent,” he said.