‘Absolutely ridiculous’: Ben Stokes rubbishes Gambhir’s injury substitute suggestion
Stokes says conversations around injury substitutes should be shut down and stopped
MANCHESTER: England captain Ben Stokes slammed India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s proposal for injury substitutes in Test cricket, terming the conversations around it ‘absolutely ridiculous’.
The touring side, trailing by 2-1 in the five-match series, suffered an injury blow in the recently concluded fourth Test when their wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant fractured his foot while batting and consequently retired hurt.
The left-handed batter resumed his innings on the second day when India lost their sixth wicket with 314 runs on the board.
Following the match, Gambhir called for a change in the rule for players with major injuries, emphasising that they should be substituted.
“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,” Gambhir said at the post-match press conference.
“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. Imagine if we would’ve had to play with ten men against 11. How unfortunate would this be for us,” he added.
Gambhir’s suggestion did not sit well with the England captain, who ridiculed the discussion by highlighting the possible misuse of the proposed rule of injury substitute in the longest format.
“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that there’s a conversation around an injury replacement,” Stokes said.
“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. If you stick anyone else with an MRI scanner, a bowler is going to show, ‘oh yeah, you’ve got a bit of inflammation around your knee; oh sweet, we can get another fresh bowler in’. I just think that conversation should be shut down and stopped,” he concluded.
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