Michael Vaughan Urges ICC To Allow Substitutes After Rishabh Pant's Injury. Ex-India Star Disagrees

India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been ruled out for the remainder of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy after he fractured his toe while batting on Day 1 of the 4th Test against England in Manchester on Wednesday. Pant inside-edged a reverse sweep onto his foot off Chris Woakes' bowling. He was in immediate pain after copping the blow as the physio came charging out to attend. The Indian vice-captain had to be taken off the field as he was unable to put his foot on the ground.

He was taken out of the field on a buggy ambulance to receive further treatment in the medical aid room at Old Trafford. Pant later went for scans, which revealed a toe fracture. Though Pant returned to bat on Day 2 despite battling pain, he has been advised 6 weeks of rest by the medical team.

While there is a rule to get like for like replacement in case of concussion, there is no such protocol that allows another player to play in case of an injury. Former England captain Michael Vaughan suggested that teams should be allowed to have substitutes who can bat or bowl if any player suffers an injury like. He further explained how it  is not fair to have a 10 vs 11 contest.

"Clear and obvious injuries in the first innings of Tests we should allow like for like Subs .. we have concussion subs so surely we can have subs for injuries like Rishabhs," Vaughan posted on X.

However, former India cricketer Parthiv Patel had a different take on this. He argued that teams often find ways to exploit such rules, so there is no need to tweak them.

"There are already quite a few grey areas that teams try to exploit. Like in T20 cricket, we've seen, you know, the concussion rule, and people try to take advantage. So, in an ongoing game, if someone gets injured, what do you do? So, I think it's only fair. At least, now the rule has changed so that a wicket-keeper can do wicket-keeping. Otherwise, it wasn't even there," said Parthiv, a JioHotstar expert, during a select media interaction on Thursday.

"Someone from the team would have had to keep wickets, but I'm okay with the rule. It's unfortunate that Rishabh got hit, but it is what it is. What can you do about it?"

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team England Cricket Team Rishabh Pant Parthiv Patel Michael Vaughan England vs India, 2025 Cricket