Yuzvendra Chahal replaced Ravindra Jadeja as a concussion substitute after the latter was hit on the head by a steep bouncer from Mitchell Starc. Then as it turned out, Chahal’s spell won India the game. There was a lot of debate regarding Chahal not being a like-for-like replacement for Jadeja. However, it fell perfectly in place as per the ICC guidelines. Earlier, Aussie coach Justin Langer was seen to have a heated debate with match referee David Boon for letting India use Chahal as Jadeja’s replacement.
Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper spoke about the concussion replacement being a double-edged sword in the post-match presentation.
“Concussion replacements are a strange thing, today it worked for us; maybe another time we wouldn’t have found a like-for-like,” skipper Virat Kohli said after the win in Canberra.
Meanwhile, Anil Kumble, who heads the ICC Cricket Committee explained the use of a concussion substitute as per the rules laid down by the ICC.
“Jadeja had done his part of batting. If you look at his other skill as a spinner, I’m sure Jadeja would’ve bowled his four overs. That’s why a spinner was brought in as a like-for-like replacement,” he said at a book launch.
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The comments by Kumble clearly follows the rules laid down by the ICC on concussion replacements.
ICC’s Guidelines on Concussion Replacement
“The ICC Match Referee should consider the likely role the concussed player would have played during the remainder of the match, and the normal role that would be performed by the nominated concussion replacement.”
The concussion replacement rule was brought in cricket after the unfortunate death of Australian batsman Phil Hughes in a Sheffield Shield match. Meanwhile, despite the rules laid down by the ICC on concussion substitutes, it is still open for debate.
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