Harshit not a like-for-like replacement, says Buttler

Jos Buttler disagrees with Harshit Rana's inclusion as a concussion sub, questioning the decision and lack of consultation.

Jos Buttler felt that Harshit Rana’s inclusion as a concussion sub was not solely responsible for England’s loss in the fourth T20I here on Friday. The skipper, however, stressed that England disagreed with the decision to include Harshit in place of Shivam Dube.

“It’s not a like-for-like replacement, we don’t agree with that. Either Dube has put on about 25mph with the ball, or Harshit has really improved his batting. I still think we should have gone on to win the match, but we disagree with the decision,” said Buttler.

Buttler revealed that there was no consultation or information about the replacement. “As I came out to bat, I was thinking who Harshit was on for? I was told he was the concussion sub, which I obviously disagreed with,” he said. “They said the match referee had made the decision. We will ask Javagal [Srinath] some questions just to get some clarity.”

Asked if Harshit was more an Impact Player — an IPL rule — than a concussion sub, Buttler came up with a tongue-in-cheek response. “Maybe at the toss next game, I will say we are going to play 12 as well,” he said.

Approved by match referee: Morkel

India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel said that the concussion sub was approved by the match referee, suggesting that there should be no debate around it.

“As far as I am aware, Shivam took a knock on the head and came off the field with a mild headache. We took a name to the match referee for a suitable substitution... from there, it was up to him to decide,” Morkel said.