Harshit Rana replacing Shivam Dube as a concussion substitute has stirred fierce debate in the cricketing circles; various opinions abound regarding the controversy. The England skipper Jos Buttler made his displeasure known in the post-match press conference on the same. The Indian bowling coach, Morne Morkel, on expected lines, was also asked regarding Rana replacing Dube in the second innings of the match.
While Morkel did not speak much after this incident, let it be known that the recommendation for a substitute comes from the team, and it is finally up to the on-field match referee to take the decision. Javagal Srinath, who was the match referee during the fourth T20I in Pune, allowed the fast bowling replacement Harshit to replace Dube, who may not have bowled in the match even for a single over. Furthermore, in all 23 T20I innings where he has bowled, Dube has bowled his quota of just four overs on two occasions. This shows how little the batting all-rounder could have contributed with the ball if he had gone into the field.
“Shivam came off the field in the innings break with mild headache symptoms. We put a name forward to the match referee in terms of a suitable replacement, and after that, it was up to the match referee to make that judgment. At the time the decision was made, Harshit was having dinner. So we had to get him ready as quickly as we could in order to get him on to the field to bowl.”
“When it is within the powers of the match referee above me, I cannot speculate nor do anything. I can only give the name and after that, it goes beyond my control,” Morkel said after the match. Hats off to him – on T20I debut, Rana picked up impressive figures of 3 wickets for 33 runs in 4 overs, dismissing Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, and Jamie Overton. Ramandeep Singh was in the Indian squad as a like-for-like replacement, but the hosts went ahead with Harshit – and, most astonishingly, the match referee allowed it.