IND vs ENG: Harshit Rana was "not like-for-like replacement" for Shivam Dube, Jos Buttler disagrees with concussion substitute decision

Jos Buttler says he will “ask some questions” to the match referee about India’s concussion substitute in the fourth T20I.

England captain Jos Buttler has spoken on the controversial substitution of Shivam Dube with Harshit Rana during the fourth IND vs ENG T20I, which India won by 15 runs in Pune through vital contributions from both these players.

Batting first, India were powered to 181, courtesy of fifties from Dube and Hardik Pandya. In India’s last over, Dube was hit on the helmet via a bouncer from Jamie Overton.

Dube didn’t come out to the field and after England’s powerplay, it was announced that Harshit has replaced Dube as a concussion substitute. This was Harshit’s maiden appearance for India in T20Is and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands by recording figures of 3/33.

It is not a like-for-like replacement: Jos Buttler

The fact that Dube, a batting all-rounder who rarely bowls, was replaced by Rana, a bowler who has scored only two runs in his entire T20 career, created a controversy and a major talking point. Rana’s inclusion gave an extra bowling option and he made a huge impact with his three wickets.

Speaking in the post-match press conference, Buttler stated England will have a chat with the match referee and that he didn’t agree that Dube’s like-for-like concussion substitute was allowed to be Rana.

“It is not a like-for-like replacement. We don’t agree with that. Either Shivam Dube has put on about 25mph with the ball or Harshit has really improved his batting. It’s part of the game and we really should have gone on to win the match, but we disagree with the decision,” Buttler said.

“There was no consultation [with us]. That’s something I was thinking as I came out to bat – who is Harshit on for? They said he is a concussion replacement, which I obviously disagreed with. It is not a like-for-like replacement. They said that the match referee had made the decision. We had no say in it or any part of it. But we’ll ask Javagal [Srinath] some questions just to get some clarity around it.”

India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel revealed, “We took a name forward to the match referee in terms of a suitable substitution, and from there it is up to the match referee to make the decision.”

India have sealed the five-match series with a lead of 3-1. The fifth match will be played on Sunday in Mumbai.

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