Gambhir respalda los reemplazos de lesiones después del caso de Pant, Stokes lo llama “absolutamente ridículo”

India cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir batted for introduction of injury replacements in Test cricket, a move that England captain Ben Stokes dubbed “ridiculous”. The remarks come after reports suggested that the ICC may introduce the new rule soon after Rishabh Pant sustained a fractured toe during the IND vs ENG 4th Test. As per the current rules, teams are allowed to only make substitutions for injured players, and those substitutes cannot bat or bowl, effectively leaving the team with one man down.

Gambhir vs Stokes in injury replacement rule debate

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Gambhir opined that there was nothing wrong with having a like-for-like replacement if the umpires felt that an injury was serious. He pointed out that it will be very unfortunate for the team whose player is injured if they were denied a replacement and had to play 10 vs 11 game.

“Absolutely, I’m all for it. If the umpires and the match referee sees and feels that is a major injury, I think it’s very important. It’s very important to have this rule where you can get a substitute – that is, if it’s very visible. There’s nothing wrong in doing that, especially in a series like this where it’s been such a closely-fought series in the previous three Test matches,” Gambhir said.

Stokes, however, opposed the introduction of the new replacements rule, claiming that it was filled with loopholes. He said that while the concussion substitute rule was acceptable, injury replacement was not because teams could simply get another player when the injured one undergoes an MRI scan.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous that there’s a conversation around an injury replacement. There would just be too many loopholes for teams to be able to go through. You pick your eleven for a game; injuries are part of the game. I completely understand the concussion replacement; player welfare, and player safety. But I think the conversation should just honestly stop around injury replacements because if you stick me in an MRI scanner, I could get someone else in straightaway,” Stokes claimed.