You must’ve heard of fielding substitutes or even concussion substitute rules. They allow teams to replace injured players.
But here’s a catch. These rules have certain limitations.
For instance, a concussion replacement can happen only in case a player suffers a head injury.
And fielding substitutions? Teams can bring in a replacement player only for fielding. That’s it. They can’t bowl or bat.
So this puts teams in a fix when a player sustains a serious injury other than a concussion. The teams don’t have any choice but to play with or without the injured player.
But this might change soon. The BCCI has introduced a ‘serious injury replacement’ rule for its domestic cricket competitions.
So what’s considered a serious injury?
First things first, teams can’t replace any injured player. Only a serious injury will see a successful replacement.
And here’s what falls under a serious injury:
1. Fracture
2. Dislocation
3. Deep Cut
4. Or any other major external injury
The player must’ve suffered any of these injuries due to an external blow. Most importantly, it must’ve happened during a match on the ground. And the extent of the injury must rule the player out of the rest of the match.
So what happens after a player suffers a serious injury?
Once a player suffers a serious blow, the on-field umpires will assess the extent of the injury.
They may consult the match referee and the on-ground doctor to determine the availability of the injured player for the rest of the match.
Once a medical report makes the player unavailable, the serious injury replacement rule will come into play.
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How will the rule work?
To replace a seriously injured player, the team manager needs to submit a substitution request to the referee.
The team manager should mention the seriously injured player, followed by the incident of the injury. They must confirm that the concerned player won’t feature in the remainder of the match. And finally, name the replacement player.
The referee will then assess the request, and if deemed fit, they will allow the replacement.
But who will replace the injured player?
This is where it gets interesting. The rule only allows for a like-for-like replacement.
So, in case a bowler suffers a serious injury, then another bowler can come in as a substitute. A bowler can’t be replaced with a batter or vice versa.
In the case of an all-rounder, the match referee will see the likely role the injured player would’ve played (batting or bowling or both) in the rest of the match. Based on that, a like-for-like replacement will be allowed.
And teams can only pick a replacement from their nominated substitutes list, provided at the time of the toss. Teams can’t rope in a player outside the nominated pool.
The only exception is for wicketkeepers. If a keeper sustains a serious injury and there’s no backup in the substitute pool, then the team can select one from outside the nominated substitutes.
Once the referee gives a go-ahead, the substitute player will participate in the remainder of the match. The injured player, of course, won’t play any part.
While the injured player won’t longer play, any penalties or suspensions incurred by them will apply to the replacement player.
Why bring in a new rule?
Well, there have been instances of players suffering fatal injuries on the field, which ruled them out of the match. This, obviously, impacted their team’s plans.
Take Chris Woakes’ example. He suffered a shoulder dislocation while fielding in The Oval Test against India. This meant he couldn’t bowl for the rest of the match, while he came to bat only once.
Woakes’ injury perhaps played a part in England losing the match by six runs. Had a replacement been allowed, England may have won that match with ease.
While some are in favour of a replacement rule and others are not, if the BCCI implements this rule successfully, we may soon see it in action at the international level.
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