"Messi or Ronaldo score goals frequently" - Ravichandran Ashwin explains why T20 cricket is heading in same direction as football

Ravichandran Ashwin has claimed that T20 cricket is headed the same way as football after getting retired out during an IPL game between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans.

In this IPL game, Ashwin was sent in to bat at No. 6 in the 10th over to allow Riyan Parag to bat with freedom later on in the innings. However, after scoring 28 off 23 deliveries, Ashwin ended up getting retired out with 10 balls left in the innings.

The move has since been called the first instance of a tactical substitution in cricket. Substitutions are obviously a big part of football and are used by managers to bring about tactical changes.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin claimed that cricket was headed in the same direction as football:

"It might work sometimes and it might not work sometimes. These things happen constantly in football, and we haven't cracked T20 cricket fully yet. This is a millennial sport. This is the next generation's sport. In fact, if you see in football, Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo score goals frequently. But their team's goalkeeper should also save goals and their defenders should defend well. Only then, a Messi or Ronaldo will be in the limelight."

He added:

"T20, as a sport, is heading towards where football has reached. Just like how they're using substitutions, I did something similar [retiring out]. Already we're late, but I believe this will happen a lot in the coming days. I don't think it will be a stigma like running someone out at the non-striker's end."

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Ravichandran Ashwin and innovations in cricket

Ravichandran Ashwin is not a newcomer to challenging established customs

Cricket has often been seen as a conservative sport which likes to hold on to its revered traditions. However, the game has evolved in previous decades and T20 cricket is a vastly different format from the traditional multi-day version.

In football, substitutions allow a manager to bring about immediate change in tactics and also helps with injuries etc. Some players are also considered to be better to bring on when the opposition is tired.

When it comes to T20 cricket, there are a bunch of ways in which quick changes can alter a match’s course. The death overs are considered ideal for power-hitting, and there are certain players better equipped to play them.

Protecting those players for the more crucial phases of the innings can help IPL teams post bigger totals.

Ravichandran Ashwin has in the past also created a huge debate over a well-established convention of the game. The form of dismissal colloquially referred to as 'Mankading' was brought into the focus when he ran out Jos Buttler at the non-striker's end in 2019 IPL.

Recently, the MCC, a body which owns the laws of cricket, decided to move this form of dismissal from the 'Unfair Play' section of the laws to the 'Runout' section.

There is little doubt that T20 cricket will undergo constant changes in the coming times as well. Tactical substitutions might be used by other teams as well in the future.