CPL player Rahkeem Cornwall walks out of the match after hitting 6 sixes

Rahkeem Cornwall is a towering figure in the game of cricket, and quite literally so! The 24-year-old had been roped in by the St. Lucia Stars team in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). It was in the match against the Barbados Tridents, that Cornwall took a bizarre decision to walk off the field while the match was in full swing after having hit 6 sixes.

At six-foot-five-inches tall and sporting a weight of 143 kgs, Cornwall is arguably one of the biggest units to have featured in the game of cricket. Thursday’s CPL match at Bridgetown saw the youngster smash a dazzling inning of 78 runs off 44 balls, comprising six 6’s and seven boundaries. However, he opted to leave the field as “Retired Hurt” after being struck in the midsection range by a delivery from Kieron Pollard. Cornwall chose to leave because he was finding it too difficult to run between the wickets in such a high-voltage game.

Cornwall retired himself out during the match

First up, the Stars were faced with a daunting total of 196 runs to chase. The Tridents’ mammoth total had been fuelled by Dwayne Bravo’s spectacular century. In reply, Rahkeem Cornwall toyed with the opposition’s bowling attack as he knocked every other delivery out of the park and hit boundaries at will.

However, he was struck around the midsection by a delivery from Pollard and after facing a single delivery in the 18th over, the cricketer walked off the field as he found it tough to take the quick singles that were required in such a crunch situation. Pollard was visibly displeased at the move and gave the tall man an animated send-off.

It was former skipper Darren Sammy who walked in after the unceremonious exit but to no avail. St. Lucia Stars were unable to chase down the target and fell short by 29 runs, becoming the first team ever to have lost all the 9 matches in a CPL season.

Here are the tweets about the event:

Rahkeem Cornwall—a vast man—has retired himself on 78* (44) when finding it hard to run between the wickets in a tight run-chase. #CPL17

— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) September 1, 2017

Pollard, the fielding team captain, is furious – shouting & gesticulating at Cornwall as he walks off the field with Sammy coming in. #CPL17

— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) September 1, 2017

St Lucia Stars end up losing by 29 runs. Cornwall’s decision to retire out did not change the match but his inability to run did. #CPL17

— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) September 1, 2017

This opens up a debate T20 needs to have about retiring players out. Can it be a tactical choice? Is evidence of injury required? #CPL17

— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) September 1, 2017