Indian cricket board introduces injury substitute rule

The Indian cricket board has introduced an injury substitute rule to replace injured players in its domestic tournaments.

According to Indian media outlets, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) introduced the “serious injury replacement substitute” in its multi-day domestic tournaments.

The new rule will take effect in the upcoming Duleep Trophy, set to begin on August 28, followed by its introduction in the Ranji Trophy.

The introduction of BCCI’s ‘serious injury replacement substitute’ comes just weeks after India coach Gautam Gambhir stressed the need for injury replacements in Test cricket.

His comments came after Rishabh Pant batted with a broken foot against England during the five-match Test series.

The Indian cricket board has now introduced the rule in its domestic circuit with an aim to prevent injured players from playing further in the match.

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As per the ‘serious injury replacement substitute’ rule, teams will be allowed to bring in any non-playing like-for-like member of the squad in place of an injured player.

However, the side will need an approval from the match referee after producing concrete evidence of the seriousness of the injury.

As per the Indian cricket board, the injury has to have happened during the game and needs to be external such as taking a blow resulting in a deep cut or fracture.

The BCCI rule further states, “The serious injury replacement player shall be from nominated substitutes at the time of toss. Only in the case where the wicketkeeper is seriously injured and needs a replacement then the match referee may allow a wicketkeeper from a player outside the nominated substitutes if there is no wicketkeeper in the nominated substitutes.”

It is to be noted here that the International Cricket Council (ICC) only allows substitution for a player who suffered a concussion in international games.