Maharashtra declined Karnataka’s request to incur the services of a substitute during their Ranji Trophy game on Wednesday. The situation was created after Manish Pandey was called to the Indian team as a replacement of Ajinkya Rahane, who injured his index finger during the practice session ahead of the Wankhede Test. It was the first day of the Ranji game between Maharashtra and Karnataka when news came that Pandey and Shardul Thakur have been named as replacements.

According to a report, a hopeful Karnataka team requested match referee Pranab Roy if they can incur services of another player in place of Pandey. Pranab Roy fast forwarded the case to BCCI’s general manager (cricket operations) MV Sridhar, who advised them to ask Maharashtra captain Swapnil Gugale, who declined Karnataka’s request, “There was no question of allowing a replacement considering the situation we are in. We are playing for six points to qualify for the quarterfinals,” Gugale was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

Gugale’s worry is explicable as Maharashtra needs six points from this game to qualify for knockouts but the way they played in the first innings, there are chances of them losing the game may be before the completion of the fourth day.

There are also reports that Manish Pandey, who joined Indian team a night before the start of the game, had an onerous journey as he first travelled to Delhi by road and then boarded a flight to Mumbai. However, there might be a slight chance that Indian team management might release him as he has not featured in playing XI.