Harshit Rana’s inclusion as a concussion substitute has ignited a fierce debate within the cricketing community. He made his T20I debut against England in Pune, after replacing Shivam Dube but the decision has turned out to be quite controversial as the substitution seemed to defy the typical ICC guidelines listed down for concussion replacements.
What Did ICC Rules Say?
According to the ICC rules, the teams are allowed to send a like-for-like replacement when a player suffers a concussion. In the 4th T20I Rana and Dube were very different when it comes to the skill sets as Rana was a fast-bowler and Shivam Dube is an all-rounder. This raised a lot of questions whether India’s substitution was in line with the rules, despite all these match referee Javagal Srnath approved the substitution allowing Rana to go and play.
Jos Buttler’s Outburst
Harshit Rana’s impact on the game was undeniable. He delivered an outstanding performance and claimed three important wickets. Following the match England Captain Jos Buttler expressed his frustration and openly criticized the decision.
He said, “Either Shivam Dube has put on about 25 mph with the ball or Harshit has really improved his batting. It’s not a like-for-like replacement, we don’t agree with that. It’s part of the game, I still think we should have gone on to win the match but we disagree with the decision.”
Ravichandran Ashwin Backs Buttler
After Buttler’s outburst Ravichandran Ashwin has backed him and called the situation “poetic injustice”. Ashwin highlighted that India had previously used the concussion rule to their advantage and he cited the instance in Canberra where Yuzvendra Chahal replaced Ravindra Jadeja in a similar situation.
“The game is done. India capture yet another series at home. T20I has been a real juggernaut of a win. But my question is, whether we forgot it was an international game and played an IPL match? Because today all the discussion was on how Shivam Dube’s concussion substitute? I can understand it has happened in the past too. In Canberra, Yuzvendra Chahal replaced Ravindra Jadeja,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“Poetic Injustice”: Says Ashwin
“You can call poetic justice, or in fact poetic injustice. I don’t understand it. At least earlier, Chahal replaced Ravindra Jadeja. Here, Harshit Rana replaced Shivam Dube.
“There is no role of the Indian or England team. If there is no one in the squad, then you can say that Harshit Rana can bat a bit and Shivam Dube can bowl a bit, that’s why we brought him in. Like-for-like replacement Ramandeep Singh was sitting outside. I don’t understand,” he explained.
“This is a case of pure cricketing miscalculation, either on the part of the umpires or the part of the match referee or whoever be it. Ramandeep Singh was there, a batter who can ball a bit, like-for-like for Shivam Dube. But not him. Harshit Rana was chosen as the concussion substitute. I think people in charge should look into this. Today it happened against England and hurt, some day India might be hurt too.” he concluded.
