England captain Jos Buttler took a swipe at the officials during the toss of the fifth and final T20I against India at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, February 2. Buttler pointed out that England were effectively playing with four impact substitutes, a rule exclusive to the Indian Premier League (IPL).
His comments followed the controversy surrounding Harshit Rana’s replacement of Shivam Dube as a concussion substitute in the fourth T20I in Pune. Rana’s contribution helped India secure a 15-run victory, taking a 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
For the final match, England made just one change, with Mark Wood replacing Saqib Mahmood. Buttler addressed the official broadcasters, Star Sports, at the toss (via Cricbuzz):
“Mark Wood comes in, and Saqib Mahmood goes out. We have four impact subs in our team today.”
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Buttler also expressed his concerns about the issue following the fourth T20I. The 34-year-old claimed that match referee Javagal Srinath didn’t consult England before making his decision. He stated (via ESPNcricinfo):
“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.”
“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 [Javagal Srinath] had made the decision. We had no say in it or any part of it,” Buttler added.
Jos Buttler and England Choose to Bowl First Against India in 5th T20I
England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bowl against India in the fifth T20I on Sunday in Mumbai. The team will be eager to finish the series on a high with a victory to boost their confidence ahead of the upcoming three-match ODI series against India.
India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, made one change to their playing XI, with Mohammed Shami replacing Arshdeep Singh.
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