Starting October, replacements will be trialled in domestic first-class cricket for players who suffer ‘serious injury’ during a game. The trial would be conducted by full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and will allow “like-for-like” replacement any time during a game, including the warm-up period, the BBC reported.
As of now, like-for-like replacements for a whole game are allowed only for concussions while for other issues, a replacement can only field or keep wicket. They are not allowed to bat or bowl.
“Substitute shall not bowl or act as captain but may act as wicketkeeper only with the consent of the umpires,” the relevant law states.
What constitutes ‘serious injury’ has not been defined but during the trial period, substitutes may not be allowed for minor niggles.
Often, a serious injury during a game can gravely disadvantage one side, which may be left without a front-line bowler. It can affect the batting side of things as well as runners are no longer allowed.
During the recent Test against England, Zimbabwe fast bowler Richard Ngarva had a back injury and had to leave the field. When he returned, he was not allowed to bowl as he had spent a lot of time off the field. He looked in discomfort and had to leave the field again, according to the BBC.
Earlier this year, Jasprit Bumrah’s back injury during the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney more or less decided the fate of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India’s pace spearhead, who had a memorable series Down Under, had to walk off, much to the relief of the Aussies, who capitalized to claim the bilateral trophy for the first time in a decade.
In that game, even if a like-for-like substitute had been allowed for Bumrah, he wouldn’t have been of the same class. But it would have allowed the Indian team another bowling option with the stakes so high.
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If the law change is allowed after the six-month trial period, umpires would have to be on their toes to ensure there is no misuse. Normal substitutes are often employed to give some players, especially fast bowlers, rest between spells. An agile substitute can impact a game by taking a catch, affecting a run-out or simply by saving some runs.
There have even been allegations of abuse of the concussion protocol where a like-for-like replacement hasn’t come in, but someone more likely to succeed in the given conditions.
