During India’s batting innings, all-rounder Shivam Dube was hit on the helmet by the ball and was unable to continue fielding. India then utilised the concussion substitute rule, replacing Dube with Harshit Rana in the playing XI. Rana’s arrival completely changed the match; he bowled brilliantly, taking three wickets for 33 runs in four overs. This ultimately led to England losing the match by 15 runs.
However, this incident brought the ICC rule under scrutiny. When India came to bowl, they were short a fast bowler. Shivam Dube was unavailable, and Ramandeep Singh was fielding as a substitute. Then, India used the concussion substitute rule to bring in Harshit Rana.
The concussion substitute rule states that if a player suffers a head injury during a match, they can be replaced by another player of a similar skill set. In this case, Shivam Dube’s concussion substitute should have been someone with similar batting abilities and the capacity for part-time bowling. The replacement should be ‘like-for-like’; a batsman cannot be replaced by a bowler. Ramandeep Singh would have fit this criteria.
But the team management chose full-time pacer Harshit Rana instead, a decision approved by the match referee. Harshit Rana’s bowling is arguably superior to Shivam Dube’s, and his introduction dramatically altered the match. He immediately dismissed Liam Livingstone, followed by the dismissals of Jacob Bethell and Jamie Overton, securing the win for India. Questions are now being raised about whether Rana truly fits the definition of a ‘like-for-like’ replacement given his primarily fast-bowling role.
