Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin surprised everyone when he decided to walk off after scoring 28 runs off 23 balls against Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday.

Ashwin revealed that it was a tactical move and he wanted Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer to make the most of the last few remaining balls.

In fact, Ashwin became the first player in the IPL history who decided to retire out in the tournament. Ashwin had walked out to bat when his team was in a precarious situation and he added 68 runs with Shimron Hetmyer before sacrificing his own wicket.

“It was an in the moment thing,” Ashwin told Cricbuzz. “It’s a team game that we often forget in the euphoria. But then it’s an important aspect of the game we haven’t considered.”

Ashwin compared T20 cricket with Football and added that a collective effort is needed in both sport.

“T20 is more of a team game than we all know. It is almost as much as football. The goal scorers are like your opening batter or wicket-takers. But they are worth it only if your goalkeeper or defenders are ready to do what it takes,” Ashwin

Kumar Sangakkara, the Director of Cricket at Rajasthan Royals revealed the decision was taken collectively by the player and the team’s think tank.

“It was a combination of both [Ashwin and RR management]. It was the right time to do that, Ashwin himself was asking from the field as well, and we had discussed it just before that, as to what we would do,” the former Sri Lanka skipper said after the game.

Meanwhile, Retiring out is within the rules of the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club).

“(It’s) just to confirm that it is within the Laws. Law 25.4.1 says the batter can retire at any time. Law 25.4.3 confirms that if there is no injury or illness it’s ‘Retired – out’ and the batter cannot return in that innings without consent of the opposing captain,” a spokesman for the MCC added.

RR will next take on Gujarat Titans at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai on Thursday.