 "Harshit Rana came on as concussion substitute for Shivam Dube in the fourth T20I against England and picked up three wickets. AP")
Controversy erupted during the fourth T20 between India and England in Pune on Friday after pacer Harshit Rana was called in as concussion substitute for all-rounder Shivam Dube. Dube, who scored 53 off 34 balls , suffered a blow to his helmet on the penultimate ball of the Indian innings.
He did not take the field during England’s chase and was replaced by Harshit Rana as a concussion substitute. Rana made an instant impact with the ball, finishing with figures of 3/33.
Experts react to Harshit’s controversial inclusion as concussion substitute
Harshit’s inclusion in the playing XI, however, raised questions among the cricketing fraternity if he was a “like-for-like replacement” or not. Former England captain Michael Vaughan was one of those who questioned the decision to bring in Harshit. “I have to say the substitute— How did they find that Harshit Rana is a like-for-like for Shivam Dube? An out-and-out bowler replacing a batter who can bowl part-time stuff is beyond me,” Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.
Former India pacer Zaheer Khan also weighed in on the issue. “Maybe Ramandeep (Singh) would have been the ideal choice,” said Zaheer. “The match referee’s role was to say, ‘Okay, you have nominated this player, but he doesn’t suit the criteria exactly, so suggest another player who is actually a batter who can bowl, rather than a bowler who can bat,” he added.
Former England all-rounder Kevin Pietersen also spoke against Harshit Rana being named as concussion substitute replacement for Shivam Dube. “Jos Buttler got out in frustration because he was not happy with the substitution . Ask anybody in the world if Harshit Rana is a like-for-like replacement. I’m not so sure that anybody would say that he is. I think there is going to be a very big discussion if Harshit Rana picks up four for nothing,” he said on air.
“It is a different matter if he is like-for-like or not, but an entirely different discussion if they can turn this into their strength,” added Pietersen.
Cricketer-turned -commentator Sanjay Manjrekar said that while he was unsure if Harshit was a like-for-like replacement for Dube, the Indian team management tried to convince their reasoning as much. “Whether he is exactly like-for-like, not sure. Anyone out there would know that a Shivam Dube is not similar to Harshit Rana. But India could put up a case, which is what they had to do - convince the officials,” he said on ESPNCricinfo.
“The argument would have gone in such a way that India would have said we are planning to use Dube for four overs and we have lost his services because of the concussion issue and we want a bowler for that,” he added.
Former opener Aakash Chopra also shared his views on the incident. “It’s not really a like-for-like replacement if Harshit bowls….which he should. Ramandeep was the ideal ‘concussion replacement’ for Dube,” he wrote on “X”.
Harsha Bhogle felt that it was advantage India when the pacer was introduced. “India were hugely advantaged with Harshit Rana coming in,” he said on air.
‘It goes to the powers above me’: Morkel
India bowling coach Morne Morkel spoke how the team management came about suggesting Harshit’s name as concussion substitute. “As far as I’m aware Shivam Dube obviously took the knock against the head and came off the field during the innings break with mild headache symptoms.
“We took a name forward to the match referee in terms of a suitable substitution and from there it’s up to the referee to take that decision. So a decision was made,” he said at the post-match press conference. He also spoke on how Harshit had very less time to get ready.
“Harshit was having dinner. He had to get himself ready as quickly as possible to get on to the field and bowl. Yeah, I thought he did an excellent job. No, like I said that it goes to the powers above me, match referee, he made the decision. We can only take the name forward and from there it’s out of our hands. We got the green light to go with that and we gave him the opportunity,” he added.
India defeated England by 16 runs in the fourth T20I in Pune on Friday to seal the series with a game to spare. The fifth and final match of the series will be played in Mumbai on Sunday.