India vs England: Concussion sub row stretches as ICC referee berates the officials

The T20I leg of England Tour of India has concluded with the hosts claiming a 4-1 victory. The India vs England series seemed to be cruising largely seamlessly, with India hammering England. However, controversy hit towards the rear end of the five-match series when the hosts opted for a concussion substitute. In the fourth T20I, the hosts played Shivam Dube, who joined the squad after Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out due to injury. The all-rounder played a commendable knock when the top order failed to make an impact in the opening innings. However, a stray bouncer by Jamie Overton hit the helmet of Dube, resulting in the hosts opting for a concussion substitute in the chase. What started as a rather harmless decision by India has grown into a full-fledged row that sees no end even with the series wrapped up.

India vs England: The concussion sub row elevates as Chris Broad and Sunil Gavaskar slam the management

Shivam Dube proved instrumental in the clash where the visitors threatened to claim another victory after their 26-run win in the third India vs England T20I. English pacer Saqib Mahmood stunned the Indian batting lineup as he claimed three wickets in the first innings after Jos Buttler opted to field first. In a series where the likes of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood were thrashed all over the grounds, Mahmood picked three wickets in the fourth T20I. Two of his three scalps were ducks, as Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav departed for a four-ball duck, and the otherwise swashbuckling Tilak Varma marked a golden duck. With England appearing likely to repeat their victory and take the series to the decider, all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube scripted a redemption.

Pandya smashed a swift half-century, and Shivam Dube played the perfect ally as both of them hit 53 at strike rates of 176.67 and 155.88, respectively. From there onwards, the elements played in favor of the hosts as the momentum shifted towards them. By the end of the opening innings, Dube took a hit on his helmet as Jamie Overton threw a bouncer at the batter. Following a concussion test, Dube departed on the next delivery via a run-out. Moreover, the hosts replaced the all-rounder with Harshit Rana as they went for a concussion substitute. Harshit Rana, a specialist pacer who made his T20I debut as a substitute, played an elemental role in India's victory in Pune.

Rana scalped three wickets as India won the match by 15 runs and claimed the series 3-1. Following the victory, English skipper Jos Buttler expressed his dissatisfaction with the replacement. The skipper and later many from the fraternity pointed out that Harshit Rana was not a like-for-like replacement for the all-rounder. Chatter all around called that India played an "impact sub" to win the match as opposed to the idea of a concussion sub. Though criticized, India's move played well within the regulations set by the ICC. However, Buttler reminded of the incident at the toss of the 5th T20I when he named the dropouts from the playing XI as his "impact subs."

The hosts thrashed England to win the series 4-1 as Abhishek Sharma smashed multiple records with his 135 off 54 knock. While the series is now over, with the hosts emerging as the outright champions, the row over the concussion substitute is far from over. Chris Broad, a well-known ICC referee, has accused the council of being "biased" with respect to the decision. The former English opener called for neutral match officials to review international matches as scrutiny for Javagal Srinath mounted following the Pune T20I.

"Independent match officials were brought in to stop situations like this! Why are the ICC returning to the 'bad old days' of bias and corruption?" Broad said in one of his social media posts.

"How can an Indian Match Referee get away with allowing this Indian replacement? Match officials should be independent to omit bias," he further questioned in a separate interaction.

Meanwhile, former Indian great Sunil Gavaskar brought the Indian management into question for the apparent lapse in the India vs England clash. Going brash in his criticism, Gavaskar alleged that Dube was not even concussed. The former batter questioned the integrity of Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Suryakumar Yadav as he expressed his discontentment with the incident. In a lengthy rant, Gavaskar validated the irritation expressed by the English players and the fraternity as he reiterated the fact that Harshit Rana was not a fitting replacement for Shivam Dube in the match.

"In the Pune game, Dube batted right till the end after having got hit on the helmet earlier, so clearly, he was not concussed. So, allowing a concussion substitute itself was not correct," Gavaskar said.

"Even by the most generous stretching of the like-for-like term, there was nothing such between Dube and Rana. With tongue firmly in cheek, one can say that they are the same height and have the same standard in fielding. Otherwise, there's nothing like-for-like as far as they are concerned. England has every reason to feel done in," he added.