Injury substitution in cricket: Big no from Stokes, Ashwin calls out karma

Business Standard

16 hours ago

The 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy between India and England came to a close on Monday with one of the most dramatic finishes of all time, where India pulled off a perfect Stone Cold 'Stunner' on England on the final day of the match and series, orchestrated by Md Siraj, to win the match by just six runs to end the series on level terms of 2-2. The series had been home to some extraordinary moments of cricketing action and also of determination.
From Rishabh Pant coming out to bat with a fractured toe in Manchester to add a crucial 17 more runs to his total in India's first and ready to do it all over again in the second innings if required, to Chris Woakes' entry at the Oval with his arm tucked inside his sweater to keep England's hopes of winning the series alive—this was a series where emotions and grit were put on the highest pedestal. But these instances also call for a big question to be asked, i.e., should ICC allow player substitution for all types of injury instead of restricting it only to head injuries? While many believe ICC should, the English skipper Ben Stokes believes otherwise.
Stokes, who ended up on both the giving and receiving end of the injury replacement question in the post-match press conference at the Oval, quoted a British idiom called Sod's law, which means if something can go wrong, it will go wrong—and usually at the worst possible time—and outwardly refused to support the idea of injury replacement in cricket.
I don't see it being a thing: Ben Stokes
Stokes, who almost mocked the idea of injury replacement in cricket after the Manchester Test where India were left struggling after their best red-ball batter of the last five years, Rishabh Pant, suffered a fractured toe, found himself surrounded by the same question after the Oval Test—after his team lost a game they might have won if the rule of player substitution for any kind of injury existed.
Stokes, after the match, said that teams would continue to find loopholes around the rule if made, which will be unfair. Stokes, who himself was ruled out of the final Test due to a shoulder injury, further added that if the rule existed, he could have made himself available for the match, taken a chance, and would have simply replaced himself with someone else if it didn't work out.
Stokes did acknowledge how his team suffered due to Woakes' injury in a similar fashion to how India struggled due to Pant's injury, but he simply dismissed the idea of substitution by saying we all need to just deal with the injury and rules as they are and move forward.
While Stokes quoted Sod's law, his current situation can more perfectly be described by Murphy's law post his comments on Pant's injury, as the law states: whatever can go wrong will go wrong.
Stokes was given karma treatment: Ashwin
Former Indian off-spinner R Ashwin, while talking on his YouTube show 'Ash Ki Baat' after the Oval Test, called out Ben Stokes while mentioning Woakes' situation for them as karma and said, 'As you sow, so shall you reap.'
Ashwin called out Stokes by saying that the English skipper was joking about the idea of player substitution after Pant's injury but karma hit him, and his team found themselves in a similar situation with Woakes. Although the off-spinner did not shy away from commending Woakes' effort and said that he is in awe of the English all-rounder who put his life and career on the line to almost help England walk away with the match, he simultaneously urged some serious discussion around these types of situations and asked teams to have some empathy towards the opposition.
I am all for it: Gautam Gambhir
India's head coach Gautam Gambhir voiced strong support for the introduction of injury replacements in cricket, especially in high-stakes Test series after the Manchester Test. According to Gambhir, if the umpires and match referee determine that an injury is serious and clearly visible, teams should be allowed to bring in a substitute. He believes this would be a fair move, particularly in tightly contested series like the one currently underway. Gambhir emphasised that no team should be forced to continue with just ten players due to an unfortunate injury, calling such a scenario highly unfair in a competitive setting.
Legends side with Gambhir's views
The English skipper Ben Stokes found no support for his comments about injury replacement, as cricketing legends from India and England such as Sunil Gavaskar and Michael Vaughan also voiced their support for Gambhir's comments.
Gavaskar said, 'Here, it is a clear injury; there has to be a substitute. I want some committee to take a call on this kind of injury so that teams are not left handicapped.'
Vaughan's comments came after England's unfortunate situation with Woakes, but his remarks eventually supported Gambhir's ideas. During the morning session of the fifth day, while Woakes was running around with just one good arm, Vaughan said, 'If there's a genuine injury in the first innings, it affects the game and the entertainment, which fans pay money to watch. The first innings is a good cutoff to make it fair.'
How does player substitution actually work in cricket
For most of its history, cricket had no injury-related replacement, as if a player was unable to continue, he simply had to walk away and his team had to play with one less player. However, on August 1, 2019, the ICC made a change and introduced player replacement for head-related injuries.
According to the latest player substitution rule, cricket's substitution rules are set out by the MCC in Law 24 ('Fielder's Absence; Substitutes'). Here's how substitutions work:
If a player on the field gets injured or falls sick, the team can bring in a substitute fielder. This substitute can only field—they are not allowed to bat, bowl, or act as captain in the match. A substitute can keep wicket only if the umpires agree, but only as a stand-in, not permanently.
A big change was made in 2019 with the introduction of the concussion substitute rule. If a player suffers a head injury (concussion) during a game, a 'like-for-like' substitute is allowed. This means the replacement can do everything the injured player could—bat, bowl, field, or keep wicket. This substitution needs approval from the match referee to make sure the swap is fair.
Runners (who used to run between the wickets for injured batsmen) are no longer allowed in international cricket.
Tactical substitutions—replacing a player for strategy reasons—are not allowed according to MCC Laws, except in franchise leagues like the IPL, which have their own 'Impact Player' rule. In standard cricket (Tests, ODIs, most T20s), only substitutes for injury, illness, or concussion are permitted.