Gavaskar suggests major change to ICC following Pant's injury, doesn't want it to be seen as 'Indian situation'

Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar namedropped former India captain Sourav Ganguly while driving home a point regarding substitutions in cricket. Even though he has been vocal against the concussion substitute rule that has been in place since 2019, Gavaskar felt that the International Cricket Council (ICC) should seriously consider allowing substitutes in the sport, especially in the aftermath of the foot injury to India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant in the ongoing fourth Test against England in Manchester.

“I’ve always felt that you are giving a like-for-like substitute for incompetence. If you are not good enough to play short-pitched bowling, don’t play Test cricket; go and play tennis or golf. You are giving a like-for-like substitute for somebody who can’t play the short ball and gets hit,” Gavaskar said, referring to the concussion substitute rule.

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“Here, it is a clear injury (Pant); there has to be a substitute. I want some sort of committee appointed to take a call on this. There is a cricket committee, ICC has a cricket committee, but at the moment, that’s headed by Sourav Ganguly, the ICC chairman is Jay Shah, and the ICC CEO is Sanjog Gupta,” he continued.

Don’t want it to be branded an ‘Indian situation’, says Sunny G

Gavaskar, however, cautioned that he did not want to see the introduction of the substitute rule as an “Indian situation”, given the chairman and CEO of the Dubai-based global body along with the head of the Cricket Committee are all Indian. The former India opener, instead, hoped for a different committee to take a call on the matter.

“We don’t want a situation for the media here in particular and in Australia to say, ‘Oh, because it’s an Indian situation, they have started to do that’. So, let it be a totally different committee to look at these injuries, maybe with doctors, etc., and let that committee come to a call,” he added.

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Pant had suffered a fracture on his right foot while attempting to reverse sweep a yorker from Chris Woakes while batting on 37. He was forced to retire hurt after the impact, with Pant having to be driven off the ground due to his inability to walk.

Also Read | ‘Rishabh Pant you fighter’: Keeper hailed for heroically walking out to bat at Old Trafford despite fractured foot

The 27-year-old, however, heroically returned to the crease on the following day after India lose their sixth wicket, and would go on to complete his 18th Test half-century while getting India close to the 350-mark.

Dhruv Jurel has been keeping wickets in the English innings in Pant’s absence, and while a question mark hangs over the latter’s ability to bat in India’s second innings, he has been ruled out for the fifth Test at The Oval that gets underway next Thursday.