BCCI does the unthinkable, introduces ‘like-for-like replacement’ rule in case of ‘serious injury’ during game
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "BCCI does the unthinkable, introduces ‘like-for-like replacement’ rule in case of ‘serious injury’ during game")
BCCI introduces ‘like-for-like replacement’ rule in case of ‘serious injury’ Photograph: (AFP)
India and England lost their premier players to ‘serious injuries’ during the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
The Indian Cricket Board has done the unthinkable. Weeks after India and England lost Rishabh Pant and Chris Woakes, respectively, to injuries during the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the BCCI has amended the playing conditions, allowing like-for-like injury replacements for serious injury in multi-day cricket for the forthcoming domestic season. In a major boost to the injury replacements in cricket, the introduction of such a rule could now see those ‘suffering any serious injury’ anytime during a game's duration get replaced by someone with similar attributes.
"If a player sustains a serious injury during the course of the relevant match, a Serious Injury Replacement may be permitted in the following circumstances," the newly-introduced rule in the Playing Conditions states. "The serious injury must have been sustained during play and within the playing area described in the clause."
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This supposed rule change led to contrasting opinions from both Indian and English camps during the Oval Test. While Ben Stokes, the English captain, slammed the rule (of bringing in an injury replacement during a game), calling it ridiculous, Team India's head coach Gautam Gambhir welcomed the move.
It all began when India lost Rishabh Pant during the fourth Test in Manchester and England lost Woakes during the final Test, with both teams playing a batter short across two games. Even though Pant batted with a broken foot in the second innings at Old Trafford, also scoring a gritty fifty, Woakes made headlines when he walked out with a dislocated shoulder during the final day of the fifth match.
"Absolutely, I'm all for it," Gambhir said of Pant's injury during the fourth Test in Manchester. "If the umpires and the match referee see and feel that is a major injury, I think it's very important. It's very important to have this rule where you can get a substitute - that is, if it's very visible. There's nothing wrong in doing that, especially in a series like this where it's been such a closely-fought series in the previous three Test matches. Imagine if we would've had to play with 10 men against 11. How unfortunate would this be for us?"
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Stokes, on the other hand, discarded the whole idea, saying, "It's absolutely ridiculous that there's a conversation around an injury replacement," the England captain said. "There would just be too many loopholes for teams to be able to go through. You pick your eleven for a game; injuries are part of the game. I completely understand the concussion replacement, player welfare, and player safety. But I think the conversation should just honestly stop around injury replacements because if you stick me in an MRI scanner, I could get someone else in straightaway.”
Meanwhile, the Indian Board introduced the rule in the Playing Conditions (2025/26 season) in the multi-day cricket under a new header ‘Serious Injury Replacement’, which states that a like-for-like replacement, almost similar to concussion replacement rules, will now be allowed.
