Chasing 193 against the Gujarat Titans, the Rajasthan Royals were jolted early by the loss of Devdutt Padikkal. But an even greater shock was awaiting the franchise’s fans, with R Ashwin walking out to bat at No.3 instead of Sanju Samson.
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The Royals haven’t been averse to shaking things up in 2022. Just a game ago, Ashwin tactically retired himself out, meaning that Riyan Parag could optimise the final few deliveries of the innings. Ultimately, that proved to be the difference, with Parag scoring 8 off 4 balls and RR winning by three runs.
While that move was something many teams might have visualized but were not courageous enough to execute, the decision to send Ashwin at No.3, despite Rassie van der Dussen, Shimron Hetmyer and Samson sitting in the shed, left plenty scratching their heads. Prior to the fixture on Thursday, Ashwin had batted inside the powerplay of a T20 game only four times. And, anyone who watched his innings would struggle to work out what the purpose of the move was. Ashwin walked off with eight off eight balls to his name.
If RR wanted someone dynamic to ensure that they kept the required run-rate in check, Ashwin hardly fits the bill. His strike rate in the powerplay post his perplexing knock against Gujarat Titans stands at 58.82 – certainly not befitting of someone promoted as a pinch hitter. The veteran doesn’t have a power-hitting reputation that precedes him either – hence his retiring out in RR’s previous game. If anything, Ashwin’s sluggishness prompted Buttler to throw caution to the wind when something slightly more judicious would have held RR in better stead.
The other argument could be that the off-spinner was sent out to arrest – or even prevent – a slide. Ashwin seemingly has the requisite technique to survive a new-ball onslaught, but his record belies that. He averages 6.66 in the powerplay, having been dismissed three out of the five times he has batted during that phase. RR had only lost a solitary wicket as well, meaning that there wasn’t really a need to shuffle their pack. What made it more interesting was that each of the other options are pretty capable T20 top-order batters. Samson has previously featured as an opener and van der Dussen has experience of batting at No.3. Hetmyer, too, has played that role for the West Indies in the shortest format.
It’s not just hindsight that prompts one to suggest Ashwin’s promotion was unwarranted, considering how RR fell away post his dismissal. Even at the time, it seemed a call that was made without any logical backing.
Ashwin has been vocal in wanting to make T20 cricket as tactically flexible as football. Just a few days ago, he said that tactically retiring batters out was as close as cricket would come to substitutions. He has always explored cricket’s Laws for any edge, with anything technically allowed fair game, never mind what anyone else thinks about it. But was this an example of Ashwin and the Royals overthinking in pursuit of a marginal gain, tying themselves in knots instead of sticking to the basics?
RR took the game of tactical innovation too far with Ashwin batting at No.3. There might have been a hunch somewhere in that dressing room or an instinct saying that this will work. But when the boundaries of cricketing wisdom are pushed to such an extent, it usually doesn’t.
