Former England captain Michael Vaughan expressed displeasure after India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal replaced all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as the concussion substitute in controversial circumstances in the first T20 International in Canberra, on Friday.
Jadeja, who hit a quickfire 44 not out from 23 balls, was hit on the helmet by Mitchell Starc in the 20th over of the Indian innings, but carried on batting without being assessed by the physio.
'Ravindra Jadeja was hit on the helmet in the final over of the first innings of the first T20I. Yuzvendra Chahal will take the field in the 2nd innings as a concussion substitute. Jadeja is currently being assessed by the BCCI Medical Team,' tweeted BCCI.
Courtesy of Jadeja's late fireworks, India scored 64 runs from the last five overs to post 161/7 in their 20 overs.
India replaced Jadeja with Chahal, who was originally left out of the playing XI, when they came out to bowl.
The move proved to be a masterstroke as Chahal took 3/15 to guide India to a 11-run victory.
A player, who was not part of the playing XI, walked away with the man of the match award.
Vaughan pointed out that Jadeja didn't undergo a concussion test after the blow on the helmet and suggested that he might have been replaced after he injured his leg while batting.
'No Doctor or Physio came out to Test Jadeja for concussion ... he then looks like he has done something to his leg ... then they pull the concussion replacement,' Vaughan tweeted.
'There were no plans of having Yuzi in the game. Jadeja took a knock on the head and was feeling dizzy. Concussion replacements are a strange thing, sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. Today, it worked for us,' India captain Virat Kohli said after the match.
Australia Head Coach Justin Langer was clearly annoyed with Match Referee David Boon's decision to allow India the concussion substitute, as seen from the television footage of their conversation.
'I have no issue with Jadeja being substitute with Chahal. But I do have an issue with a Doctor & Physio not being present after Jadeja was struck on the helmet which I believe is protocol now,; tweeted former Australia player Tom Moody.
'Jadeja to bat. Chahal to bowl. Best of both worlds. On a much serious note -- hope Jadeja is okay. Concussions must never be taken too lightly,' tweeted former India opener Aakash Chopra.
India will argue that they didn't take any undue advantage from the concussion substitute rule as the law clearly states that: 'The ICC Match Referee should ordinarily approve a Concussion Replacement Request if the replacement is a like-for-like player whose inclusion will not excessively advantage his team for the remainder of the match.'
By withdrawing Jadeja from the rest of the T20 series, India may have halted the debate for now. But the Canberra controversy will surely cast a shawdow over the concussion substitute issue.
Do you think India took advantage of the concussion substitute rule? Or did they do the right thing by replacing Jadeja after he sustained a blow on his helmet? Please let us know in the message board below:
