Ravichandran Ashwin, the India and Delhi Capitals (DC) off-spinner, gave Rajasthan Royals (RR) all-rounder Rahul Tewatia's dramatic resurgence a philosophical touch by emphasizing the need to learn from people like Tewatia who hang in there against all odds.
The lesson is specially important in the times we're living in, with the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc worldwide, leading to mass life loss and hurting economies.
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Sent in at No.4 in the difficult chase of 224 versus Kings XI Punjab in Match 9 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in Sharjah this Sunday (September 27), Tewatia couldn't find the sweet spot for most parts of his batting effort, not being able clear the boundary ropes as was expected of him.
However, things changed unexpectedly, as he finally got one in the middle over long-off to find some rhythm and later struck six more maximums, including five in one over, to finish with a 53 not out off 31 balls and won his team the game by four wickets when all hopes seemed lost.
Cricket experts have been pushing for teams to retire out players in the middle of their struggle and send a more in-form batsman in order to maximise each ball in T20 cricket.
While it is still believed a more renowned batsman wouldn't have left RR needing one of the rarest revivals, Tewatia's never-give-up attitude and bravery in the face of adversity was quite commendable.
After Tewatia's knock and their victory, RR franchise made an impressive change to their Twitter bio, which now reads, "Hoping 2020 does a Rahul Tewatia".
Taking note of this, former India batsman-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra, who is among the advocates of retire out option, wrote, "Fingers crossed. All of us are calling for 2020 to ‘retire out’ already."
Ashwin, though, stressed on a deeper lesson from Tewatia's act, saying such people are the inspiration to follow in this difficult period.
"The ability to reverse 2020 is not in trying to retire the year, but to encourage the #Tewatia ‘s who hang in there against the odds and show that is there is 'light at the end of a tunnel'," he tweeted.
