Harshit Rana, who made his T20I debut against England and took three wickets, spoke out about the concussion debate.
In the series’4th game in Pune on Friday, Harshit Rana made his T20I debut for India under peculiar circumstances as he was substituted for Shivam Dube due to a concussion. Online debate followed the decision, with analysts asking why a pacer was chosen over an all-rounder since it didn’t seem like a like-for-like replacement.
Rana, who took three wickets in the Pune T20I, claimed that it was his ideal debut and was undeterred by the concussion controversy. “For me, it remains a dream debut. I was told I would be the concussion substitution when Dube returned after two overs. This is not just for this series; I wanted to demonstrate my worth here after longing for a chance. “I bowled well in the IPL and was just doing the same here,” Rana said to the media following the Pune T20 International.In the 8th over, Rana made an immediate impression by making a vital catch that dismissed England captain Jos Buttler. The England coaching staff was then shown conversing with Buttler in the dugout, who was clearly unhappy.The addition of Rana to the starting XI gave India another bowling option, and the pacer for the Kolkata Knight Riders also performed admirably with the ball. He got rid of Liam Livingstone in the 12th over, and then he got rid of Jacob Bethell for just 6 runs in the 16th over, which was another important wicket. He clean bowled Jamie Overton for 19 in the 18th over, taking his third wicket. With a final bowling percentage of 3 for 33, Rana made a compelling case for himself in international cricket.Even though Rana’s inclusion was controversial, his performance was crucial to India’s win. The young pacer’s future on the international scene is bright given his cool response to the criticism and his role in winning the match.
Many fans were upset that Rana was chosen as the replacement, as was former cricket player Kevin Pietersen, who was making comments during the match. Pietersen claimed that because Dube was an all-round batting batsman for the Indian squad and Harshit Rana was a full-time bowler, India was effectively playing with 12 players.Pietersen stated that the replacement had to be questioned because only players who were similar to each other could be substituted for concussions in international cricket, according to ICC regulations. Pietersen invoked ICC clause 1.2.7.3.4, which makes the same claim.
Regarding the type of concussion substitute, the ICC regulation states that “…identify the requested Concussion Replacement, who shall be a like-for-like replacement for the player who has sustained the concussion or suspected concussion.”
