In a big development at the Manuka Oval in Canberra during the first T20I between India and Australia, Yuzvendra Chahal will take the field as a concussion substitute in place of Ravindra Jadeja. The left-hander was hit on the helmet in the final over bowled by Mitchell Starc. In addition, Ravindra Jadeja was also treated for a hamstring injury. In a statement released by the BCCI, it said, “Ravindra Jadeja was hit on the helmet in the final over of the first innings of the first T20I. Yuzvendra Chahal will take the field in the 2nd innings as a concussion substitute. Jadeja is currently being assessed by the BCCI Medical Team."
This move has clearly not pleased the Australian cricket team, with coach Justin Langer and Aaron Finch visibly expressing their displeasure over the whole incident. Langer, in particular, was not at all happy and he was seen arguing with match referee David Boon. India finished on 161/7 thanks to a brutal knock of 44 by Ravindra Jadeja. Tom Moody, the former Australia player, has expressed his reservations on Twitter when he said, "I have no issue with Jadeja being substitute with Chahal. But I do have an issue with a Doctor & Physio not being present after Jadeja was struck on the helmet which I believe is protocol now?
Rules of the concussion substitute
The concussion substitute rule has been in debate for the past four years and in the 2019 Ashes contest in Lord’s, Marnus Labuschagne became the first concussion substitute after Steve Smith was hit on the side of the neck by Jofra Archer.
According to the new set of rules, the ICC allows players who suffer concussions during a match to be replaced in their team’s playing XI. However, the regulations emphasise on a ‘like-for-like’ replacement for the concussed player and that part still remains to be under dark clouds. Match referees will have a huge say if a team decides to bring a substitute during a match. As per ICC Cricket Operations boss Geoff Allardice, the match referees will determine who the concussion substitute is and he has the power to restrict a player from bowling in order for the replacement to be considered like-for-like.
The like-for-like rule is also a grey area. Yuzvendra Chahal is a legspinner while Ravindra Jadeja is a left-arm orthodox spinner. How does that constitute like-for-like is debatable. India were boosted by a fifty from KL Rahul before India hit 46 runs in the final three overs, primarily thanks to Ravindra Jadeja as they reached 161/7.
