India’s former off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has questioned the on-field actions and the match referee, Javagal Srinath, for allowing Harshit Rana to come as Shivam Dube’s concussion substitute during the fourth T20I against England in Pune. Rana’s three crucial wickets in the second innings changed the momentum of the encounter after Dube celebrated a fine half-century in the first innings.
Many pundits and the visiting captain, Jos Buttler, criticized the decision. He found Harshit hard to promote as the like-for-like replacement of Dube, who hardly bowls, while Rana doesn’t have many batting skills.
The former England batters, Kevin Pietersen and Michael Vaughan didn’t mince their words. However, it’s important to state that the Indian camp was within their rights to put Rana’s name as the substitution as it was up to the match referee to accept or deny. The law of the game justifies Rana as like-for-like of Dube.
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Ravichandran Ashwin hilariously stated that probably the officials forgot that it was an international match rather than an Indian Premier League. He also reckoned that it was pure cricketing miscalculation.
“The game is done. India captured yet another series at home. T20I has been a real juggernaut of a win. What was this game? It was like a replica of the IPL. Super sub was there, and the game was played with an impact player.” Ravichandran Ashwin expressed in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.
Ravichandran Ashwin urges lawmakers to change the concussion substitute rule
The Tamil Nadu spinner looked back when Ravindra Jadeja was facing Australia during the T20I series down under in 2020 and he was substituted after being hit on the head. The premier leg spinner of the side, Yuzvendra Chahal, replaced the left-arm spin all-rounder.
“The entire discussion is about how Harshit Rana came in as a concussion substitute for Shivam Dube. Did we forget that it was an international match and play an IPL match? I can understand. It has happened in the past. Ravindra Jadeja got concussed in Canberra, and Yuzvendra Chahal came in as a substitute. I don’t understand this. At least previously, Chahal came in for Jadeja, a spinner for a spinner.” Ravichandran Ashwin added.
The former Indian all-rounder also highlighted that Ramandeep Singh should have been the ideal concussion substitute for Dube. The veteran also urged the lawmakers to look at the concussion rules and make a few changes.
“Here, Harshit came in for Shivam Dube. There is no role for the Indian or England team. If there is no one in the squad, then you can say that Harshit Rana can bat a bit, and Shivam Dube can bowl a bit, that’s why we brought him in. Like-for-like replacement Ramandeep Singh was sitting outside. I don’t understand.” The Chennai-born shed light.
India was under incredible pressure at the start of the contest after being put into bat first. The home side lost their three wickets in the second over for just 12 runs. But Dube and Hardik Pandya’s aggressive half-centuries and a stable knock from Rinku Singh fired the Suryakumar Yadav-led side to 181/9 in their allotted 20 overs.
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“This is a case of pure cricketing miscalculation, either on the part of the umpires or the part of the match referee. Ramandeep Singh was there, like-for-like for Shivam Dube. But not him. Harshit Rana was chosen as the concussion substitute. I think people in charge should look into this.” Ravichandran Ashwin concluded.
England was fully in the chase with 62/1 in the powerplay but again lost their plot in the middle overs. The fifth and final game will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.