Ravichandran Ashwin raised concerns about the decision to allow Harshit Rana to replace Shiviam Dube as a substitute for concussion during the fourth T20i between India and England at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Rana's impactful performance, which included three main wickets, played a significant role in the narrow victory of 15-run for India .

Ashwin took a dig at the on-field officials and match referee for what he termed a 'pure cricketing miscalculation,' saying they appeared to have forgotten that it was an international match of great importance, quite contrary to an IPL game. He aired his views via his YouTube channel, 'Ash Ki Baat,' stating, "The game is done. India captures yet another series at home. The T20I has been a real juggernaut of a win. What was this game? It felt like a replica of the IPL, with a supersub and an impact player."

Criticism from Cricket Analysts

The decision of allowing Rana to be a substitute has drawn ire from many a cricket analyst including England captain Jos Buttler, who said Rana was not a "like-for-like" replacement for Dube. Former Englishmen Kevin Pietersen and Michael Vaughan were not too pleased either. However, it has to be stated that the Indian team acted within the rules and that the cricketing bodies have yet to clarify what constitutes a "like-for-like" replacement.

Ashwin mentioned that in previous cases, like when Ravindra Jadeja had a concussion in Canberra and Yuzvendra Chahal replaced him, the replacements had better alignment in the roles. He stressed that Ramandeep Singh would have made a better concussion substitute for Dube and felt the lawmakers should reconsider the concussion rule.

Call for Re-evaluation of Concussion Rules

"Harshit has come in for Shivam Dube. The roles of the Indian or England teams do not matter here. If there are no other players in the squad, you could make an argument that Harshit can bat a bit and Dube can bowl a bit, and hence he was brought in. But Ramandeep Singh was available; he would have been a more apt replacement for Dube," Ashwin said.

"This is a massive blunder on the part of the umpires or the match referee. Ramandeep Singh was in attendance and would have been more appropriate. The ones in charge must re-evaluate this issue," he said.

Series Status

With this win, India leads the five-match series 3-1.