Shivam Dube made his presence and absence count in the fourth T20I against England in Pune on Friday, and Jos Buttler was not pleased. The England captain expressed his dissatisfaction when India used a concussion substitute for the all-rounder. Harisht Rana, Dube’s replacement, was equally effective with the ball as he was with the bat.
“Either Shivam Dube has put on about 25 mph with the ball or Harshit has really improved his batting.” Buttler fumed. “It is not a like-for-like replacement; we disagree with that. It’s part of the game; I still believe we should have won the match, but we disagree with the decision. The England captain did not mince words after India prevailed by 15 runs to grab a commanding 3-1 lead in the five-match series. On Sunday, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will host the fifth and final T20I.
Dube, batting at No. 6, hit a typically aggressive half-century (53) before getting run out on the final ball of the Indian innings. A ball earlier (19.5) struck him on the helmet. When India onto the field, they used Rana as a concussion substitute. Buttler stated that he will take up the case because there was no consultation.
“There is no consultation. As I came out to bat, I was thinking, ‘Who’s Harshit on for?’ and was told he was the concussion substitute, which I immediately disagreed with because it wasn’t a like-for-like replacement. They [umpires] stated that the decision was made by the match referee, and that we had no voice or involvement in it. We’ll ask Javagal Srinath [match referee] some questions to clarify the situation.”
According to ICC rules, the match referee must accept the concussion substitution. Normally, there must be a like-for-like replacement, and the substitute is not expected to provide a significant advantage to the side. “If the ICC Match Referee believes that the inclusion of the nominated Concussion Replacement, when performing their normal role, would excessively advantage their team, the ICC Match Referee may impose such conditions upon the identity and involvement of the Concussion Replacement as he/she sees fit, in line with the overriding objective of facilitating a like-for-like replacement for the concussed player,” according to the statute.
The question of whether it was like-for-like was up to interpretation. Dube is left-handed, while Rana is right-handed. However, both Rana and Dube are right-handed bowlers. However, the English believe Rana provided a significant advantage to India. “We were not consulted or questioned about the game. It is not the only reason we did not win the match; we had opportunities to win that we could have taken. But certainly, I’d like to have some explanation on that,” Buttler stated.
There was no question asked about the problem at the post-match press conference, but critics agreed that the England management had every reason to be upset. It felt like an Impact Player regulation from the IPL, when clubs field 12 players. “Maybe at the toss next game I’ll say we’re going to play 12 as well,” Buttler added in a lighter tone. But he appeared disgruntled and irritated during the post-match media interaction.
Rana had not played a T20I before this match, but he had two Tests under his belt. He grabbed the wickets of Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethel, and Jamie Overton in his quota of overs, and his hits came in his first over (12th) and last over (19th), as England slumped to 166 from 62 for no loss at one point. Buttler pointed out that England did not lose the match because of Rana, and that the replacement helped India win. “No, he didn’t [win the game on his own], but he helped.”
The Indian team’s management said that they followed the book. “Shivam clearly took a blow to the head, came off the field, and took the innings break with mild headache symptoms. We put forth a name to the match referee as a viable substitution, and it is up to the match referee to make the decision. So the decision was made, you know, Harshit was having supper, and he needed to get himself ready as soon as possible to get on the pitch and bowl,” India bowling coach Morne Morkel explained.
The match referee made the decision. We can only move the name ahead; the rest is beyond our control. We received the go-ahead for it, and you know, we gave it a chance.”You know, I’ve only been with the T20 group for a short time.”
