Gavaskar slams India over concussion sub row in fourth England T20I

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has shared his views on the concussions sub controversy in the fourth IND vs ENG T20I.

India team management and the match officials were bashed after pacer Harshit Rana was brought in as a concussion sub for batting allrounder Shivam Dube in the fourth game of the five-match series.

Dube was hit on his helmet in the last over of the side’s innings, forcing India to bring in a concussion sub.

Several former England cricketers including Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook slammed the match referee’s decision, saying that the Harshit Rana was not a like-for-like replacement for Dube.

Read more: Buttler questions Harshit Rana as concussion sub in fourth IND vs ENG T20I

Now, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has shared similar views as he claimed that the batting allrounder was not concussed in the fourth IND vs ENG game in Pune.

“In the Pune game, Shivam Dube batted right till the end after having got hit on the helmet earlier, so clearly, he was not concussed. So, allowing a concussion substitute itself was not correct,” he wrote in a column for an Indian publication.

According to Gavaskar, Rana should have been allowed to field and not bowl as England were chasing a 182-run target.

The former India captain maintained that it was not justified for India to bring in Harshit Rana as a concussion sub for Dube.

“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,” Gavaskar added.