Former Indian cricket captain Sunil Gavaskar has voiced strong criticism of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) current concussion substitute policy. During an interview, Gavaskar argued that the rule, which allows a like-for-like replacement, is being misused — even in instances he described as “incompetence.”
According to a statement in Olymics.com regarding 'current concussion substitute policy, if a player sustains a concussion or suspected concussion during a match, a replacement can be allowed under strict conditions.
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Rishabh Pant suffered a toe injury while attempting a reverse sweep against pace bowler Chris Woakes, after which the controversy flared up.
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The injury kept him off the field, but on Day 2, Pant returned to bat and scored a half-century. His dedication to the game shows resilience and determination towards cricket.
In one of the interviews on Sony Sports, Gavaskar stated: "I've always felt that you are giving a like-for-like substitute for incompetence. If you are not good enough to play short-pitched bowling, don’t play Test cricket; go and play tennis or golf. You are giving a like-for-like substitute for somebody who can’t play the short ball and gets hit.”
According to OneCricket report, Gavaskar added to the interview that "it is a clear injury (Pant); there has to be a substitute. I want some sort of committee appointed to take a call on this. We don’t want a situation for the media here in particular and in Australia to say, ‘Oh, because it’s an Indian situation, they have started to do that.’ So, let it be a totally different committee to look at these injuries, maybe with doctors, etc., and let that committee come to a call.”
The controversy surrounding the injury substitute can even escalate further.
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