England Legend Slams Concussion Sub, Says This Star Should've Replaced Dube

Former England captain Alastair Cook has questioned the match referee's decision, during the 4th T20I between India and England, to allow Harshit Rana to replace Shivam Dube as a concussion substitute. According to ICC Guidelines, ‘The ICC match referee should ordinarily approve a concussion replacement request, if the player is a like-for-like player.' Rana's introduction proved to be a turning point, as he scalped three wickets for 33 runs, rattling England's middle and lower order just when the visitors seemed to be building momentum in their chase of 182.

“It had such a big impact on the game. Replacing a big-hitting batting all-rounder, who has bowled one over in the [2024] IPL, with a bowler who can't bat and bowls heavy seam, makes no sense to me whatsoever.

“England still really should have won the game. They probably would have rather faced a pace bowler than a spinner, to be honest, but I still don't understand it.

"India have Washington Sundar on the bench, who Dube replaced. but instead they bring in a heavy bowler, who bowls 140-odd [kmph]. It seems madness that you can do it," Cook told TNT Sports.

Ravi Bishnoi (3 for 28) and debutant Harshit Rana (3 for 33) claimed three wickets each as India beat England by 15 runs. With the win, India seal the series 3-1 with the last T2OI scheduled in Mumbai. Earlier, Hardik Pandya (53) and Shivam Dube (53) produced a counter-attacking partnership to rescue India from a precarious position and push them to a competitive 181/9.

English captain Jos Buttler acknowledged that his side should have won the game regardless of the introduction of Rana but was still left baffled by the decision.

"We disagree with the decision. It's not a like-for-like replacement. Either Shivam Dube has put on about 25 mph with the ball, or Harshit has really improved his batting. They had a like-for-like replacement in Ramandeep Singh, so we are quite confused as to how Harshit Rana was able to come into the game. We'll ask Javagal [Srinath, the match referee] some questions.

"We had no consultation. As I came out to bat, I asked the umpire why Harshit was on the field and he said he's the concussion sub which I was quite confused by.

"Maybe at the toss next game, I'll say we're going to play 12 as well. I still think we should have gone on to win the match but we disagree with the decision," said Buttler in the post-match conference.

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Gautam Gambhir Breaks Silence On Rift Rumours During Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Living up to his reputation of not mincing words, India head coach Gautam Gambhir mocked those spreading rumours of a rift in the Indian team. On Team India's previous tour, away to Australia, reports of there being divide in the Indian team emerged. As results went against the Indian team Down Under, the defeats against Australia further fuelled the rumours, but Gambhir decided to maintain his silence on the matter. However, after helping the Indian team secure a 4-1 T20I series win against England, Gambhir decided to give it back to those spreading the rumours.

During a post-match chat after the conclusion of the 5th T20I in Mumbai, Gambhir highlighted how the nature of results trigger different kind of rumours in the team.

"They have played a lot of cricket with each other. More importantly, a month back, there were a couple of other rumours flying around (laughs). That's what Indian cricket is all about. There will be so many things said about the dressing room when things are not going okay. But once results start going in your favour, things start falling in place," Gambhir said.

It also has to be noted that Gambhir didn't call the Border-Gavaskar rumours to be false. Rather, just went about explaining the nature of the game.

Gambhir also said the team is ready to push the barriers in T20 Internationals with the adoption of a fresh "high-risk, high-reward" approach, and the target is now "to get 250-260 regularly” in the format.

In the fourth T20I at Pune, India kept attacking England despite losing wickets to eventually set a match-winning 181 for 9, and at Mumbai on Sunday, the hosts raced to 247 for 9, their fourth highest total in this format.

"That's the kind of T20 cricket we want to play. We don't want to fear losing a game of cricket. We want to play high-risk, high-reward cricket. And these guys have adopted that ideology really well,” Gambhir told the host broadcaster after the match on Sunday.

Gambhir said they are looking to post tall totals in the vicinity of 250 in every game, and he doesn't mind getting out for a low score in some matches while attempting to achieve the task.

"We want to try and get to 250-260 regularly. And in trying to do that, there'll be games where we'll get bundled out for 120-130. And that is what T20 cricket is all about.

"Unless and until you don't play that high-risk cricket, you won't get those big rewards as well. Most importantly, I think we're on the right track. Come those big tournaments, we want to continue playing this way and we don't want to fear losing anything," he added.

With PTI Inputs

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Story Behind Kohli Dismissal By Himanshu Sangwan: "Bus Driver Told, Bowl..."

Virat Kohli's much-fancied Ranji Trophy return after 12 long years was short-lived after he was dismissed for just 6 by Railways pacer Himanshu Sangwan in the first innings of the match at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium. Kohli didn't get to bat in the second innings as Delhi handed Railways a defeat by an innings in the group match. Despite the negative result his team incurred, Railways' Himanshu Sangwan made headlines for the fact that he clean-bowled the great Virat Kohli.

Now, Sangwan has revealed what happened in the lead up to the delivery.

"Before the match, there were talks about Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant going to play for Delhi. At the time, we didn't know that the match would be aired live. We slowly learned that Rishabh Pant wouldn't play, but Virat would, and the match would be streamed live. I am leading the Railways' pace attack. Every team member told me that they thought I would dismiss Virat Kohli," Sangwan told Hindustan Times.

"The bus in which we were travelling, even the bus driver told me that you know that you need to bowl at the fourth-fifth stump line to Virat Kohli, and then he will get out. I had self-belief. I just wanted to focus on my own strengths rather than someone else's weaknesses. I bowled to my strengths and ended up getting the wicket," he stated further.

Sangwan said Kohli appreciated the delivery that got him.

"There was no specific plan for Virat Kohli in general. The coaches told us that the players from Delhi like to play attacking cricket. They are all stroke players. We were told to bowl a disciplined line," said Sangwan.

"When our innings ended, I was going to the dressing room and Virat Kohli was coming to the field. Ayush Badoni and Virat were there. Virat Bhaiya himself shook hands with me and said, 'Very well bowled'. He told me that I was bowling well. I then told him I wanted to take a picture with him during the lunch break. I went to Delhi's dressing room. I took the same ball with which I got him out. He even asked me whether it was the same ball. He then said jokingly, 'Oh teri ki. Maza aa gaya tujhe toh'," he added.

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"Simply To Tick...": Unfiltered Gavaskar On Kohli, Rohit's Ranji Return

With a majority of Test team players turning out for their state teams in the Ranji Trophy, legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar said he hopes for this initiative to become an exercise and is not just reduced to being a box-ticking exercise. Since the time Ranji Trophy's second leg began on January 23, players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Prasidh Krishna, Devdutt Padikkal and Kuldeep Yadav have turned out for their respective state teams.

“The India team players may have participated in the Ranji Trophy simply to tick the box of ‘must dos' that the BCCI had insisted on and by doing that they brought new energy to the National Championship.

“Even though they may not have made a successful return to the tournament, their very presence would have enthused their teammates and their opponents. Meeting and spending time with them would give the teammates so much to learn from them as to how to be successful in their careers.

“Imagine the lift off for the players who got the wickets of Jaiswal, Sharma, Kohli, Rahul. They will be raring to go at other batters knowing that they have got the wickets of India's top order,” wrote Gavaskar in his column for Mid-day on Sunday.

The return of India's top Test players to the prestigious domestic competition came after BCCI made it mandatory for them to play domestic cricket when available in a policy document coming after their 3-1 series loss in Australia.

“Hopefully for the India stars too meeting the guys with whom they started their Ranji Trophy careers will have rekindled the great memories of the camaraderie and the struggle to climb the ladder to the top.

“The India stars may not have had great individual success in the Ranji games that they played last week, but by turning up they have boosted the Ranji Trophy to the level that the National Championship deserves and for that they deserve all the accolades. Let's hope this becomes a habit and not just a box ticking exercise,” added Gavaskar.

The return of Rohit and Kohli to the Ranji Trophy also brought many people to watch matches in the stadium, especially with more than 20,000 people coming to see the latter in action at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

“Elsewhere it was wonderful to see the number of youngsters who came to watch the Ranji Trophy match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Sure they came to watch Virat Kohli and that's what star power is about.

“Even if a fraction of those who came out to watch get inspired by the frenzy that was seen and go on to do something exceptional in their careers that would be the cherry on top. Earlier in the week Rohit Sharma's participation in Mumbai's Ranji Trophy game also was good to see.

“Mumbai being a working city there weren't as many who could spare the time to watch the game. In any case, if they were Mumbai supporters then it was a good thing they didn't go to the game as Jammu and Kashmir beat the defending champions comprehensively and that's never an easy thing to see for a Mumbai supporter,” concluded Gavaskar.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Chandigarh Beat Chhattisgarh, Miss Out On Ranji Trophy Qualification

Pacer Jagjit Singh led the way with excellent figures of 6/51 as Chandigarh comfortably defended a small target to register a 54-run win over Chhattisgarh in their Elite Group D Ranji Trophy match here on Sunday. Chhattisgarh were bowled out for 122 after being set a victory target of 177. With this result, Chandigarh went level with Saurashtra and Tamil Nadu on 25 points in the Group D standings but still missed out on qualification for the quarterfinals owing to fewer bonus-point wins this season.

Resuming the fourth and final day on their overnight total of 222 for four, Chandigarh kept losing wickets at regular intervals before being bowled out for 299 in their second innings.

Pacer Ravi Kiran ended with impressive figures of 5/63, and was the main factor behind his team bowling out Chandigarh for less than 300.

Captain Manan Vohra, who was dismissed on the third evening, remained the top-scorer in Chandigarh's second innings with his 54-run knock, while Mayank Sidhu and Amrit Lubana chipped in with 47 and 43 respectively.

The target of 177, however, proved to be too difficult for Chhattisgarh as they were packed off in just 30.1 overs by the Chandigarh bowlers.

While Jagjit was the wrecker-in-chief with his six wickets, off-spinner Vishu Kashyap supported him well by dismissing three Chhattisgarh batters to pave the way for his team's victory in their last game of the tournament.

Opener Aayush Pandey top-scored for Chhattisgarh in their second innings with a 41-run knock off 74 balls, while Prateek Yadav and Sumit Ruikar contributed 27 and 26 respectively, as the other batters caved in without a fight.

Pandey struck eight fours during his stay in the middle. 

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"It Might Hurt India...": Ashwin's Blunt Take On Harshit Rana Substitution

Harshit Rana coming in as a 'like for like' concussion substitute for Shivam Dube in the fourth India vs England T20I grabbed attention on Saturday. The latter, who scored 53, was hit on the helmet in the penultimate ball of the Indian innings by a Jamie Overton delivery. Following the mandatory concussion test, Dube was cleared to play. However, he was run out on the final delivery of the innings. Dube is a pace allrounder, while Rana has so far played the role of  specialist fast bowler in the Indian cricket team.

The decision to play Rana in place of Dube almost drew similar reaction from several former cricketers, who felt that it was not a 'like for like' replacement.

Just retired Ravichandran Ashwin also gave his take on  the issue.

"The game is done. India capture yet another series at home. T20I has been a real juggernaut of a win. But my question is, whether we forgot it was an international game and played an IPL match? Because today all the discussion was on how Shivam Dube's concussion substitute? I can understand it has happened in the past too. In Canberra, Yuzvendra Chahal replaced Ravindra Jadeja," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. 

"You can call poetic justice, or in fact poetic injustice. I don't understand it. At least earlier, Chahal replaced Ravindra Jadeja. Here, Harshit Rana replaced Shivam Dube.

"There is no role of the Indian or England team. If there is no one in the squad, then you can say that Harshit Rana can bat a bit and Shivam Dube can bowl a bit, that's why we brought him in. Like-for-like replacement Ramandeep Singh was sitting outside. I don't understand," said Ashwin.

"This is a case of pure cricketing miscalculation, either on the part of the umpires or the part of the match referee or whoever be it. Ramandeep Singh was there, a batter who can vall a bit, like-for-like for Shivam Dube. But not him. Harshit Rana was chosen as the concussion substitute. I think people in charge should look into this. Today it happened against England and hurt, some day India might be hurt too."

Harshit Rana picked his maiden wicket in the shortest format of the game as he dismissed Liam Livingstone in the 12th over of the innings. Livingstone went back to the pavilion after scoring just nine runs off 13 balls. In his second over, the right-arm seamer conceded 18 runs in his over where he was slammed for two sixes and a four by the vice-captain and right-hand batter Harry Brook.

The 23-year-old player took his second T20I wicket on his debut in the third over as he dismissed the left-hand batter, Jacob Bethell, who went back to the dressing room after scoring just six runs from nine balls.

In his last over of the spell, the fast bowler gave away just six runs and took the wicket of Jamie Overton on the last ball of his spell. The speedster finished his spell with a figures of 4-0-33-3.

With agency inputs 

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Hina Munawar Appointed 1st Female Manager For Pakistan Men's Cricket Team

Hina Munawar, a police officer with a strong background in security and operations, has been named as the first female team manager for the Pakistan men's cricket team ahead of the Champions Trophy. Munawar, who has served in the Frontier Constabulary in the high-risk Swat area, has been appointed as the Operations Manager for Pakistan's Tri-Nation series and the Champions Trophy which begins on February 19 in Karachi. While senior retired bureaucrat Naveed Akram Cheema will continue as team manager, Munawar's appointment has sparked curiosity among cricket fans, experts, and media.

After passing the Civil Superior Services exam, Munawar transitioned into various law enforcement and security roles.

"Perhaps her appointment is aimed at streamlining operations within the team and between players and the board, as she has worked in strategic and leadership roles, helping to streamline various operations," said a source close to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Munawar, who joined the PCB last year, was also appointed manager of the Pakistan women's under-19 team for the Asia Cup.

"She made history as the first female district officer in the Frontier Constabulary in Swat, breaking gender barriers in a traditionally male-dominated field," the source added.

It is understood that PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi brought Munawar into the board on deputation, as she remains part of the Police Service of Pakistan.

The PCB aims to streamline team management and create a more organized and efficient environment, with her appointment bringing fresh perspectives to the traditionally coaching-focused and male-dominated setup.

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