England head coach Brendon McCullum recently addressed the concussion substitute controversy from the fourth T20I against India at the MCA Stadium in Pune. The former New Zealand captain mentioned that he spoke with match referee Javagal Srinath after the match but there was no intense exchange over the incident.
Shivam Dube, ruled unfit to field after suffering a concussion while batting, was replaced by pace bowler Harshit Rana, who wasn’t a like-for-like substitute. This decision sparked backlash from former and current England players.
Rana played a key role in India’s 15-run victory, taking three wickets to help defend 181. McCullum reflected on the situation, stating that England simply disagreed respectfully with the referee’s decision, as reported by The Guardian:
“We respectfully disagree with the decision from Javagal [Srinath, the match referee] to allow someone with a different skillset to step into that role. Ihad a quick chat to Javagal after. It was lighthearted, and there was no emotion involved. It was just trying to understand how we got to that decision. We respectfully disagreed and we moved on.”
At the press conference, England captain Jos Buttler disagreed with the referee’s decision, joking that either Dube had increased his bowling speed or Rana had enhanced his batting.
Brendon McCullum ‘Surprised’ by Shivam Dube’s Inclusion in Fifth T20I vs England
Brendon McCullum expressed surprise at Shivam Dube recovering from his concussion in just one day and preparing to face bowlers consistently hitting 90mph. The 43-year-old further added:
“I was a little bit surprised because I was just worried about player welfare. Concussion is well known now in any sport and there’s a lot more known about how dangerous they can be. Especially when you have guys bowling 90mph. The decision was made that he would play and I’m sure the Indian medical team were comfortable with that.”
Despite losing the five-match T20I series 4-1, England will be eager to claim victory in the upcoming one-day series, starting on February 6 in Nagpur.
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