Maharashtra’s wicketkeeper-batter Saurabh Nawale’s name has been written in history books as he became first serious injury replacement in India’s domestic cricket after the new rule was introduced.
West Zone’s Nawale became serious injury replacement for wicketkeeper-batter Harvik Desai who had reportedly suffered a quadriceps injury.
25-year-old wicketkeeper did not have a good outing as he walked out to bat at no.3. He was knocked over by Central Zone spinner Saransh Jain. He scored just nine runs from 31 balls. He shared a 32-run partnership for the second wicket with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
In the first innings, Harvik opened the innings alongside Jaiswal and departed after scoring just one run. He was dismissed by Deepak Chahar.
What does the new rule say?
"If a player sustains a serious injury during the course of the relevant match, a Serious Injury Replacement may be permitted in the following circumstances. The serious injury must have been sustained during play and within the playing area described in clause 1.2.5.2. The injury must have occurred due to an external blow and result in fracture/deep cut/ dislocation etc,” states the new rule.
"The injury should render player unavailable for remainder of the match. Identify the requested Serious Injury Replacement, who shall be a like-for-like replacement for the player who has sustained the serious injury,” the rule added.
Nawale's career numbers
Nawale has played 11 first-class games and scored 697 runs from 18 innings at an average of 43.56, including one century and six half-centuries.
Serious injury replacement in international cricket?
The ICC is mulling over the idea of introducing injury replacements for serious injuries. The topic was debated during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 when Rishabh Pant suffered a foot fracture and Chris Woakes’ shoulder was dislocated. India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir backed the idea whereas England captain Ben Stokes said that teams will find loopholes and exploit the rule.