Former India skipper and legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar stated that he doesn’t agree with the rule of a concussion substitute and that the batsmen who are not good enough to take on the bouncers shouldn’t be given substitutes.
The concussion rule has been making the talks from the time leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal came in as a ‘like-for-like’ replacement for all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja after the latter was hit on the helmet by a bouncer from fast-bowler Mitchell Starc in the last over of the first innings.
Play Fantasy Cricket & Win Cash Prizes
Jadeja, who was diagnosed with a concussion in the innings break, will now be missing out on the remaining T20Is. Pacer Shardul Thakur, who grabbed impressive numbers in the final ODI at SCG, has been added into the Indian squad in place of Jadeja for the upcoming white-ball matches.
“On the business of concussion substitute itself, I don’t agree because maybe I am old fashioned. I have always believed that if you are not good enough to play the bouncer and you get hit on the helmet then you don’t deserve substitutes,” Gavaskar said to India Today.
Australian match referee David Boon had no objection, Gavaskar opines
Gavaskar, who is a veteran of 125 Tests and 10,122 runs to his name, further added, “But at the moment it is being allowed and according to the rules of the game, everything was done according to it and there was no problem with Chahal playing instead of Ravindra Jadeja.”
Australia’s all-rounder Moises Henriques had raised questions about whether Chahal was a ‘like-for-like’ for the Saurashtra cricketer. However, Gavaskar said that there shouldn’t be any controversy surrounding the incident as the match referee, David Boon, himself is a former Australian cricketer.
“The match referee is an Australian, he is a former Australian cricketer David Boon. He was okay with Chahal substituting Jadeja. They normally say like for like, you can argue that Chahal’s not an all-rounder but anyone who goes out with the bat whether he scores 1 run or 100 runs is an all-rounder as far as I am concerned. And he bowls, so it is a like for like replacement,” said the former Mumbai cricketer.
He furthermore pointed,” And the Australian match referee had no objection so I don’t see why there is so much noise about it.”
India won the first T20I by 11-runs in what was certainly a nail-biting victory for Virat Kohli’s men. They would now be gearing up for the second T20I set to take place on Sunday at the Sydney Cricket Ground and snatch the 3-match T20I series then and there itself.
Download the MPL Fantasy App now and compete against your friends.
