Former England captain Michael Vaughan has called for an adjustment in the substitution rule after Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant met with another injury and was forced out of the ground, this time during the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy between India and England at Old Trafford in Manchester,
“I don’t like the fact that we’ve got four days left in the game, four days of action in what has been an incredible series where we are going to have 10 versus 11,” Vaughan said to BBC Sports.
“I prefer that you’d have a sub. You know, once they brought in concussion subs, I was crying out, saying, ‘Well, just have substitutions then in the first innings of a game.’ That would be my stepping point. If it happens in the second innings, I feel that team might kind of break the rules or indulge in a bit of skullduggery. But if it’s clear and obvious when someone breaks a hand or a foot or ruptures a calf it’s so evident that someone is in real pain and can’t carry on. I think it’s very clear to me: you should be allowed a sub,” said Vaughan.
On Wednesday, Pant had to be helped off the field. The incident happened in the 68th over when Pant tried to reverse sweep a Chris Woakes delivery and was hit flush on his ankle. The player immediately went down and the physios came on the field to check on him.
His foot was swollen and the wicketkeeper-batter had to be taken off the field by a small vehicle as he couldn’t even walk out on his own accord. Ravindra Jadeja replaced him for the time being in the middle. Pant was batting on 37 when he went off retired hurt.
England veteran Alastair Cook seemed to disagree with Vaughan’s ask for a rule change.
“What if it’s just a bruise?” said Cook.
“I’m not sure I agree. I’m not even sure what I think at the moment. But say we’ve just seen Pant walk off — he looks in all kinds of pain. And then it turns out it’s not broken. So there’s nothing on the X-ray; it’s just a bruise. Does he have to play on then?” questioned Cook.
“If he has broken his foot, then that’s a different thing. But there will be cases where someone gets hit on the arm. ‘I can’t move my hand, I’m bruised.’ But it’s only a bruise. So do you get replaced because of discomfort and the fact that you can’t hold the bat as well as you’d like even though it’s just a bruise?” he added.
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