Former England cricketer and ICC match referee Chris Broad criticised the ICC match referee for approving Harshit Rana as a concussion substitute for Shivam Dube during the India vs England 4th T20I. Rana played a major role in India’s series-deciding win in Pune as he took 3 wickets for just 33 runs. However, he wasn’t part of India’s playing 11 initially but made a surprise entry as a ‘like-for-like’ concussion substitute for Dube. Javagal Srinath, who officiated as the match referee, faced scrutiny over the decision.
The decision to use Rana, who played the India vs Australia Test series as a specialist pacer, as a replacement for Dube, who is a fast-bowling all-rounder, did not go down well with many cricket experts, particularly the Englishmen.
Why Are ICC Returning To ‘Bad Old Days?’: Chris Broad
Chris Broad also weighed in on the debate and questioned the ICC, criticising the match officials for failing to prevent ‘bias and corruption’.
“Independent match officials were brought in to stop situations like this! Why are the ICC returning to the ‘bad old days’ of bias and corruption?,” Chris Broad, a decorated International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee, said on X (formerly Twitter).
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen also called the concussion substitution controversial, stating it was not a like-for-like replacement and urged the match referee to admit the mistake and move on.
“Concussion sub is quite the topic everywhere here atm and my view is…it was NEVER a like for like replacement and the match referee should just hold his hand up and say he got that one wrong. End of event for good and we move on to another great clash this evening,” former England captain Kevin Pietersen wrote on X ahead of the IND vs ENG 5th T20I.
‘England Has Every Reason To Feel Done In’: Sunil Gavaskar
Not just the English cricket experts, Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar also criticised the concussion substitution, stating Dube and Rana were not like-for-like replacements. He acknowledged England’s frustration and warned that such decisions could tarnish India’s victories despite their strong team.
“Even by the most generous stretching of the like for like term, there was nothing such between Dube and Rana. With tongue firmly in cheek, one can say that they are the same height and have the same standard in fielding. Otherwise, there’s nothing like for like as far as they are concerned. England has every reason to feel done in. This Indian team is a superb team and doesn’t need its wins to get tarnished by such acts,” Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his column for Telegraph.
