T20I series: Concussion sub remains a sore point as India rule the roost

A 4-1 T20I series win against England on Sunday, 2 February, has brought back the smiles again for Gautam Gambhir – while the IPL franchises will be taking stock of the form of their respective stars. The likes of Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma or Player of the Series Varun Chakravarthy have made the difference to a series where the visitors have had their chances – but ironically its the controversy over the ‘concussion substitute’ in the fourth T20I in Pune that is refusing to die down.

Even at the toss before the final T20I at Wankhede on Sunday, England skipper Jos Buttler had a not-so-veiled dig when he named their ‘four impact subs.’ International cricket has no provision for impact players like the IPL but Buttler’s comments resonated with Ravi Ashwin, the retired star off spinner, who called the spade a spade just the day before.

Call the visitors sore losers if you will, but fact remains it was a questionable decision by the Indian team management to field young speedster Harshit Rana instead of batting allrounder Shivam Dube. The ICC, while incorporating the substitution rule five to six years back, mandated that the substitution should be like-for-like but Gambhir unleashed Rana for his T20I debut and the Kolkata Knight Riders pacer made a difference with a three-wicket haul and keeping things under control in the final over.

Speaking on his own YouTube channel, Ashwin said: ‘’The game is done. India capture yet another series at home. T20I has been a real juggernaut of a win. What was this game? It was like a replica of the IPL. Supersub was there, and the game was played with an impact player.’’

‘’The entire discussion is about how Harshit Rana came in as a concussion substitute for Shivam Dube. Did we forget that it was an international match and play an IPL match? I can understand. It has happened in the past. Ravindra Jadeja got concussed in Canberra, and Yuzvendra Chahal came in as a substitute. I don’t understand this. At least previously, Chahal came in for Jadeja, a spinner for a spinner,’’ he added.

Calling it a ‘cricketing miscalculation,’ Ashwin said that it was a no-brainer that Ramandeep Singh, who had come out to field also, would have been the ideal replacement for Dube who was struck on the helmet while batting. The opinion is polarised on the issue with some laying the onus on Match Referee Javagal Srinath for allowing Rana as a substitute, but fact remains the ICC should be completely unequivocal on this. At a time when the impact player rule has been itself under scrutiny in IPL (the argument being it’s like playing with 12 players instead of 11), allowing this to go scot-free in international matches is a blotch on the game.

Elsewhere, the Men in Blue once again showed their remarkable depth to prove that they were practically unbeatable in this format on home soil. The coming of age of Abhishek Sharma, who had been the under the fold of Yuvraj Singh – one of the cleanest hitters in white ball cricket – showed in the manner he clobbered a surreal 135, the highest score by an Indian in T20Is. It’s a coincidence but there is a certain context that the previous record score of 126 stood in the name of another Yuvraj protégé in Shubman Gill (126 vs New Zealand in 2023).

The mandate for Abhishek and Sanju Samson is quite clear – that of a high risk-and-reward equation in the powerplay – and it’s natural that it will be a boom-or-bust in most cases. An early wicket brings in Tilak Varma, who has the maturity and shot selection for an ideal No.3 despite being so new to international cricket. The Hyderabad batter, in fact, could be a perfect investment for the ODIs as well if there is a transition taking place in the team after the ICC Champions Trophy.

Rashid Khan-like impact

  In the bowling department, it’s Varun Chakravarthy 2.0 whose impact on the rival batters has been reminding one of Rashid Khan at his peak. A tally of 14 wickets from five games including a fifer, a number of them coming against batters who have had enough exposure against him in IPL, shows how the overspin and art of deception has been helping him in striking terror in the rival camps.

 Finally, a word about Mohammed Shami. The veteran paceman, who played in two of the five matches as the hosts were overtly reliant on spin, showed he is ready for the rigour of  bowling 10 overs in the ODI series which starts in a couple of days’ time. India will need him badly for the Champions Trophy!