England captain Jos Buttler questioned India’s move to replace concussed Shivam Dube with Harshit Rana after losing the Pune T20I, saying that it did not align with the definition of a like-for-like replacement. Harshit took three wickets as a concussion substitute to help India to a series-clinching 15-run victory against England in the fourth T20 International on Friday.
India’s decision to bring on Harshit as a concussion substitute for Dube during the fourth T20I against England has come under scrutiny. Television commentators Kevin Pietersen and Nick Knight, who were on air at the time, also raised concerns about the substitution. Dube, who had been struck twice on the helmet while scoring 53 off 34 balls, did not take the field during England’s chase.
“It is not a like-for-like replacement. We don’t agree with that,” Buttler told the reporters. “Either Shivam Dube has put on about 25 mph with the ball or Harshit’s really improved his batting. It’s part of the game and we really should have gone on to win the match, but we disagree with the decision.”
Concussion sub controversy explained
Dube scored a brilliant half-century after walking in at 57 for 4 and forging an 87-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Hardik Pandya. Dube and Hardik’s fifties helped India recover from a top-order collapse to post a total of 181 for 9. However, Dube got hit on the helmet by a 141.5kph bouncer from Jamie Overton on the penultimate ball of the innings.
India had batting allrounder Ramandeep Singh on the bench, who might have been a more suitable like-for-like replacement for Dube. For a brief period, Ramandeep took the field as a substitute for Varun Chakravarthy.
Harshit made his T20I debut for India during the fourth T20I in Pune, coming in as a concussion substitute for Shivam Dube. The decision sparked controversy online, as many questioned the replacement of an all-rounder with a specialist pacer, arguing it was not a like-for-like substitution.
However, this was not the first time India found themselves in a similar situation. In 2020, Yuzvendra Chahal replaced Ravindra Jadeja as a concussion substitute in a T20I against Australia and went on to be named Player of the Match after taking three wickets.
The KKR pacer made an instant impact to remove Liam Livingstone on his second delivery. He extracted extra bounce from a short-of-good-length ball, forcing Livingstone to edge it while attempting a guide to third man. Rana bowled his full quota of overs, finishing with three wickets.
Rana also took an important catch to dismiss England captain Jos Buttler, who walked off visibly frustrated. Buttler was later seen exchanging words with head coach Brendon McCullum, possibly regarding the approval of Rana as the concussion substitute.
WHAT IS THE CONCUSSION RULE?
Rule 1.2.7.3 of the ICC playing conditions for concussion substitution states: “The ICC Match Referee should ordinarily approve a Concussion Replacement Request if the replacement is a like-for-like player whose inclusion will not excessively advantage his team for the remainder of the match.” Rule 1.2.7.7 states: “The decision of the ICC Match Referee in relation to any Concussion Replacement Request shall be final and neither team shall have any right of appeal.”
