Gambhir vs Stokes: India head coach backs idea of injury replacement despite England captain's 'ridiculous' remark
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Gambhir vs Stokes: India head coach backs idea of injury replacement despite England captain's 'ridiculous' remark")
Gambhir vs Stokes: India head coach backs idea of injury replacement despite England captain's 'ridiculous' remark Photograph: (AFP)
During the Manchester Test, India wicketkeeper-batter Pant got injured while playing a shot on Chris Woakes’ bowling, leaving him unavailable to keep wickets for the rest of the match.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir backed injury substitutes after Rishabh Pant’s recent struggles brought the idea into the limelight. Gambhir, speaking after a draw in the Manchester Test, outlined the idea of having a permanent substitute in case a player suffers a serious injury. However, the idea was dismissed by England captain Ben Stokes, who termed the idea “ridiculous,” giving a divided opinion.
Gambhir backs injury substitute
"Yes - if there's an external injury or serious concern, I fully support having a substitute. Especially in a series like this, if someone's visibly injured, there's nothing wrong with making a change. In a long series like this, you can't be forced to play with just ten players," Gambhir said in the post-match conference.
During the Manchester Test, India wicketkeeper-batter Pant got injured while playing a shot on Chris Woakes’ bowling, leaving him unavailable to keep wickets for the rest of the match. Dhruv Jurel was instead roped in to keep wickets while England were batting.
However, considering Pant’s extent of injury, Gambhir proposed the idea of injury substitutes who will be able to bat, field and bowl. Currently, the provision allows teams to only name a permanent substitute unless a player has suffered a concussion.
On the other hand, Stokes has dismissed the idea of having injury substitutes, as it could have multiple loopholes and teams could use it to greater unfair advantage.
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"I think it's absolutely ridiculous that there's a conversation around an injury replacement," Stokes said. "I think that there would just be too many loopholes for teams to be able to go through. You pick your 11 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," Stokes said in the post-match press conference.
India managed to escape the Manchester Test with great effect on Sunday (July 27) as they overcame the 311-run deficit in the second innings. Washington Sundar (101) and Ravindra Jadeja (107) played heroic knocks to help India salvage a draw as visitors are now in a must-win situation with the series at 2-1 in favour of England.
