‘Did we Forget It Was An International Match?’: R Ashwin Reacts To Harshit Rana’s Concussion Sub Vs England

Ravichandran Ashwin has said that Harshit Rana coming on as a concussion substitute for Shivam Dube in the fourth T20I between India and England in Pune on Saturday made him think that the organizers ‘forgot’ it was an international match and instead saw it like an IPL game with the impact player rule.

Dube was hit on the head during his 53-run knock in the first innings. Initially bowling all-rounder Ramandeep Singh replaced him in the field but then Rana was sent in. The latter ended up bowling the maximum quota of four overs to take three wickets for 33 runs to help India win by 15 runs and seal the series 3-1.

“What was this game? It was like a replica of the IPL. Supersub was there, and the game was played with an impact player,” Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel.

“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 played 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,” he added.

The concussion substitute rule allows the incoming player to participate in the match, unlike other injury subs. However, this has to be approved by the match umpires and the referee (Javagal Srinath in this case) who have to make sure the change is ‘like-for-like’ and is not giving the team making the change a significant advantage.

In Canberra, Australia were at the receiving end of the Jadeja-Chahal change and had expressed their reservations about it. In Pune, England captain Jos Buttler refused to agree with the officials that Rana was a ‘like-for-like’ replacement for Dube, who’s more of a batting all-rounder.

“Here, Harshit came in for Shivam Dube… 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,” Ashwin continued.

“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,” he added.

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