Jos Buttler slams India’s concussion sub swap in Pune T20I: ‘Either Shivam Dube has put on 25mph with the ball or Harshit Rana’s..’ | Cricket News

Following England’s defeat in the fourth T20I in Pune that handed India a series win with an unassailable 3-1 lead, skipper Jos Buttler slammed the match referee’s decision to allow on seamer Harshit Rana to make his debut in place of concussed batting all-rounder Shivam Dube.
Both Dube and Rana ended up making significant contributions at crucial junctures in either innings, leaving England 15 runs short in a 182-run case on Friday. After another top-order collapse, Dube playing his first match of the series, put on a sizable partnership with Hardik Pandya, smashing 53 off 34 deliveries. The southpaw suffered a concussion following a Jamie Overton short ball off the penultimate ball of India’s innings.
Interestingly, it was Rana, known more for his seam-bowling skills than his batting that later replaced him as a concussion substitute, prompting questions over the decision.
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“It is not a like-for-like replacement. We don’t agree with that,” Buttler told reporters after the match.

Jos Buttler has had his say on the like-for-like concussion replacement controversy 👀
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Rana’s inclusion proved fatal for the visitors as he removed Liam Livingstone in his first over before dismissing Jacob Bethell and Jamie Overton to finish with figures of 3/33 in four overs.
“Either Shivam Dube has put on about 25mph with the ball or Harshit’s really improved his batting. It’s part of the game and we really should have gone on to win the match, but we disagree with the decision,” Buttler added.
“There was no consultation [with us]. That’s something I was thinking as I came out to bat – who is Harshit on for? They said he is a concussion replacement, which I obviously disagreed with. It is not a like-for-like replacement. They said that the match referee had made the decision. We had no say in it or any part of it. But we’ll ask Javagal [Srinath] some questions just to get some clarity around it.
“Like I said, it was not the whole reason why we did not win the match. We had our chances to win the game which we could have still taken. But I’d like to have a bit more clarity on that.”Story continues below this ad
The teams will lock horns in the final T20I at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.