In the fourth T20I game against England, Shivam Dube was hit on the head and couldn't bowl in the second innings. Hence, India brought in Harshit Rana as a concussion substitute, and the player claimed three wickets and made a significant contribution to the team's win.
However, Rana replacing Dube wasn't a like-to-like replacement, as per ICC's rules. The former players slammed BCCI and the Indian team for substituting an unlike replacement for a player in an international game. Regarding this matter, Harsha Bhogle and Michael Vaughan engage in a fun conversation on Twitter.
Also Read: Jos Buttler hits out at India over Harshit Rana-Shivam Dube substitution row
Harsha Bhogle on his Twitter made a statement saying, "Has there ever been so much depth in Indian T20 cricket." Vaughan in a light mood replied to the statement and said, "Especially when you can replace a batter with a bowler."
It was the job of the match referees to check who came in as a substitute since Dube is an all-rounder and Rana is a full-time pacer. It was the home team's fault that they found some loophole in the system and used it to their advantage. India did this in 2019 as well against Australia when Ravindra Jadeja was injured and Yuzvendra Chahal was brought in. The bowler claimed three wickets and was the POTM. This sparked a lot of controversies in the cricket world.
You can say it's a dead rubber: Aakash Chopra
Former cricketer Aakash Chopra spoke about the final game and what significance it holds in the series. Now that India has already won the series, 3-1, the last game wouldn't matter much. They can experiment with the batting order and give a chance to players who haven't had a chance to play.
"You can say it's a dead rubber, but an advantage of a dead rubber is that you can experiment a little. Since you have won the series, you say you can try a bit. I don't think there is any need or scope for trying in batting," said Aakash Chopra.