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

England captain Jos Buttler has questioned India’s move to bring pacer Harshit Rana as a concussion substitute for Shivam Dube in the fourth IND vs ENG T20I on Friday.

Controversy erupted in the fourth game of the five-match T20I series when India brought Rana as a concussion sub for batting allrounder Dube who copped a blow to his helmet on the second-last ball of the penultimate over of their inning.

After a check-up, the Indian physio allowed Shivam Dube to play the final ball and was runout on 53 off 34 balls. He, however, did not take to the field as England were put to chase an 182-run target to level the five-match IND vs ENG series.

India brought pacer Harshit Rana as a concussion sub for the batting allrounder, a decision which has been met with much criticism.

England captain Jos Buttler has also questioned the decision to allow India to bring the pacer as a concussion sub for Shivam Dube.

“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 after India completed a 15-run win to secure the series 3-1.

The England captain lamented that the match officials did not consult with him before the decision.

“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,” Jos Buttler said.

Harshit Rana was handed the ball to bowl the 12th over of England’s inning in the fourth IND vs ENG game.

The pacer dismissed Liam Livingstone on the second ball. Rana bowled his full quota of overs and picked up three wickets.