Shivam Dube, an all-rounder who can bowl and bat, was substituted by Harshit Rana, an outright fast bowler, due to a concussion. It didn’t make sense.
Yuzvendra Chahal’s substitution for Ravindra Jadeja during India’s Twenty20 match against Australia was comparable. It was deemed unsuitable even back then, and the same accusations were made today.
The similar situation caused English captain Jos Buttler to express his displeasure. He stated during the news conference held after the game that “it is not a like-for-like replacement.” That’s not what we think. Either Harshit has become a better batsman or Shivam Dube has increased his ball speed by around 25 mph.
Though he acknowledged that neither he nor his team were consulted over the concussion substitute, Buttler, who was limited to two runs, refused to attribute their 15-run defeat—which ultimately resulted in his side giving up a 1-3 lead in the five-match series—to the injury.
“We weren’t consulted at all.” I was wondering who Harshit was playing for as I came out to bat. I didn’t agree with them when they claimed he was a concussion substitute.
There is no like-for-like substitution. They said the decision was taken by the match referee. We were not involved in it or had any say in it. However, we’ll question Javagal [Srinath] to gain some clarification,” the 34-year-old stated.
Even though Dube had reached a significant half-century (53 off 34 balls), Rana gained three vital wickets in his debut to help India win.
In an attempt to distance himself from the controversy,
India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel claimed that the match referee Javagal Srinath had the authority to decide whether or not to permit the like-for-like swap and that it was not a forced choice.
During the innings break, Shivam left the pitch due to a slight headache. After we sent a name along with an appropriate substitution, the match referee has the last say in the matter.
“It’s up to the people in charge; the match referee decides. “All we can do is move the name forward; after that, it’s beyond our control,” Morkel stated.
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