England on January 31 lost the fourth T20I by 15 runs and with that the five-T20I series against India. Defending the target of 182, Harshit Rana played a crucial role in India's 15-run win as he made his T20I debut as a concussion subtitute for Shivam Dube and claimed three wickets. After the loss, England captain Jos Buttler was visibly unhappy in the post-match press conference as he feels that it was not a like-for-like replacement.
Here's what the rule says
The rule 1.2.7 of ICC’s Men’s T20I playing guidelines deals with concussion substitutes.
According to the rule,”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/her team for the remainder of the match.”
Sub-sections, 1.2.7.4 and 1.2.7.5, further add, “in assessing whether the nominated Concussion Replacement should be considered a like-for-like player, the ICC Match Referee should consider the likely role the concussed player would have played during the remainder of the match, and the normal role that would be performed by the nominated Concussion Replacement.
“If the ICC Match Referee believes that the inclusion of the nominated Concussion Replacement, when performing their normal role, would excessively advantage their team, the ICC Match Referee may impose such conditions upon the identity and involvement of the Concussion Replacement as he/she sees fit, in line with the overriding objective of facilitating a like-for-like replacement for the concussed player.”
Why the fuss over Rana as substitute?
Dube is considered as a batter who can bowl. However, of late, he has been used as a bowler as well. In the T20I series against Zimbabwe last year, he bowled his full quota of four overs, conceded 25 runs and bagged two wickets. There has only been one instance of him bowling his full quota of overs in a T20I game. Aagainst Bangladesh in November 2019, he took three wickets for 30 runs. Mostly, Dube has bowled a few overs as he is considered a batting all-rounder.
On the other hand, young Rana is a player who can walk into a side solely for his bowling exploits. Also, he bats in the lower order compared to Dube. In bowling Dube, India got a third seamer option. His maiden wicket was Liam Livingstone who played spin well in the previous game. Then, with the old ball, he got the wickets of Jacob Bethell in the 16th over and Jamie Overton in the penultimate over.
Earlier, Dube was instrumental with the bat after his catch was dropped early. He helped India recover from early blows and contributed with a 34-ball 53. He was hit on the helmet in the ninth and the 20th over.
Maybe, Ramandeep Singh who can bowl medium pace as well would have been a fitting like-for-like replacement. He came on to the field as well but as fielding subsitute for Varun Chakravarthy.
Buttler fumes over decision
"Either Shivam Dube has put on about 25 mph with the ball or Harshit has really improved his batting." Buttler said in the post-match press conference. "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."
Buttler gets support from former England captains
"How can an out & out bowler replace a batter who bowls part time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" wrote Michael Vaughan on X.
“He is not the like-to-like replacement for Shivam Dube. You ask anyone in the world, and they will say the same thing. Dube is not a genuine pacer, but Rana is. This would be discussed a lot after the match,” Kevin Pietersen said in the commentary.