England captain Jos Buttler said he clearly disagree that Shivam Dube was a like-for-like concussion replacement for Harshit Rana following the tourists' defeat in the fourth T20I against India in Pune. The 34-year-old took a dig at approving the replacement, claiming one of them had really upped their skill in either of the departments.
With Shivam Dube hit on the helmet during his explosive knock of 53, it was determined during the innings break that the all-rounder hadn't been deemed fit to field. As a result, pace bowler Harshit Rana jumped in as a concussion replacement and made a decisive difference in the game, taking figures of 4-0-33-3 to fashion a 15-run win and a series victory for the hosts.
UPDATE
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 31, 2025
Harshit Rana is the concussion substitute for Shivam Dube.
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Jos Buttler has had his say on the like-for-like concussion replacement controversy
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Speaking at the post-game presser, Buttler said England should have won the game, regardless of who the concussion replacement was.
"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."
"They said that the match referee had made the decision" - Jos Buttler
Buttler went on to reveal that no consultation had been made with the England team as he was surprised to see Rana on the field. The Englishman promised to get some clarity around the decision with match referee Javagal Srinath, adding, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:
"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 had made the decision. We had no say in it or any part of it. But we'll ask Javagal [Srinath] some questions just to get some clarity around it Like I said, it was not the whole reason why we did not win the match. We had our chances to win the game which we could have still taken. But I'd like to have a bit more clarity on that."
The fifth and final T20I will take place in Mumbai on February 2, 2025.