The BCCI has signed off a fresh playing condition that lets teams replace a player who suffers a “serious injury” during a multi-day domestic match. The rule kicks in with the Duleep Trophy on 28 August and will be used in the Ranji Trophy later in the season.
Under the new guideline, a side can pull out an injured player and bring in a like-for-like substitute from its named reserves, but only after the match referee approves a medical report confirming the injury happened on the field and is external in nature – a broken finger or cut, for example, not a hamstring twinge picked up while chasing a ball.
The regulation itself is blunt: “under all circumstances, the serious injury replacement player shall be from nominated substitutes at the time of toss.” A second line addresses a specialist concern: “Only in the case where the wicketkeeper is seriously injured and needs a replacement then the match referee may allow a wicketkeeper from a player outside the nominated substitutes if there is no wicketkeeper in the nominated substitutes.” Both the injured cricketer and the replacement will be deemed to have played, so career tallies remain tidy.
This tweak has been rumbling in the background since Rishabh Pant batted on at Manchester with a fractured foot, while Chris Woakes did something similar with his shoulder. Those passages left both India and England effectively a player short, sparking renewed chatter about player welfare. India head coach Gautam Gambhir backed a substitute option straight away. Ben Stokes was cooler, warning that teams might try to “game the system” – though he stopped short of shooting the idea down entirely.
International cricket currently allows concussion and Covid stand-ins only, so the BCCI is testing new waters. The ICC had already told member boards it was “open” to domestic pilots; India is now first out of the blocks.
Two-ball ODI tweak also rubber-stamped
The board has copied the ICC’s recent adjustment to 50-over cricket aimed at keeping the ball alive for longer. From the Vijay Hazare Trophy onwards, each fielding side will start with two brand-new balls – one from either end – for the initial 34 overs. At that point, the captain picks whichever ball he fancies and uses it for the final 16 overs. The spare ball returns to the kit bag as a replacement option.
Players have grumbled for years that two pristine Kookaburras give bowlers little, especially up front, and leave the death overs bereft of reverse swing. Dropping to a single ball for the back half of an innings is meant to preserve a bit of wear and tear, without taking the game back to the darker, scuffed dog-ball era.
Early thoughts and possible wrinkles
Coaches are broadly supportive; they like the idea of stopping a batter or bowler aggravating a fracture just because a match situation demands it. Yet some wonder how strictly “external” will be policed. Does a dislocated shoulder count? What about a split webbing that refuses to close?
There’s also the fear of tactical mischief, the scenario Stokes hinted at: declare a player “seriously injured”, replace him with a fresher body, then watch the original wander back out if the match tightens. The medical evidence clause and the match referee’s say-so are meant to block that loophole, but teething issues feel inevitable.
Still, the wider view is that elite cricket needs to look after its workforce better. Giving domestic captains an authorised substitute in genuine emergencies feels a small, sensible step. If it holds up over a Ranji season, expect the ICC to insist on similar language in the Test playing conditions sooner rather than later.
