CHENNAI: WEEKS after India keeper-batter Rishabh Pant's injury during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England, which had sparked debates about injury replacements, the BCCI has brought in a major rule change for the upcoming season of domestic cricket. Earlier in June, the ICC had said that replacement of players (domestic first-class cricket) for injuries will be trialled by full-member nations.
According to the BCCI's playing conditions prepared for the 2025-26 season which begins later this month, a "serious injury replacement" clause has been introduced where a player, who suffers an external injury, can be substituted with a like-for-like replacement. This change, which was briefed in a seminar to the umpires ahead of the season in Ahmedabad, is applicable only for multi-day red-ball tournaments and not white-ball cricket.
For the rule to be applied, the player would have had to sustain the injury during play and within the playing area — it includes external blow which results in fracture or deep cut or dislocation and so on — and is ruled out for the rest of the match. If that happens, the on-field umpires will have the authority to decide on the extent of the seriousness and whether the replacement is permitted; they can consult the match-referee and doctor on the ground. Once it is deemed so, the respective team manager can submit the request on a standard form as soon as possible for a like-for-like replacement. "The BCCI Match Referee should ordinarily approve a Serious Injury 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. In assessing whether the nominated Serious Injury Replacement should be considered a like-for-like player, the BCCI Match Referee should consider the likely role that the seriously injured player would have played during the remainder of the match, and the normal role that would be performed by the nominated Serious Injury Replacement," the new playing condition reads.
"If the BCCI Match Referee believes that the inclusion of the nominated Serious Injury Replacement, when performing their normal role, would excessively advantage their team, the BCCI Match Referee may impose such conditions upon the identity and involvement of the Serious Injury Replacement as he/she sees fit, in line with the overriding objective of facilitating a like-for-like replacement for the seriously injured player," it adds.
The replacement player will be picked from the original substitutes named at the toss unless the injured-player is a keeper. Then, the teams are allowed to nominate someone outside of the substitutes to keep wickets. Earlier in July, Pant got hit in the foot which led to a fracture. While he did not keep wickets and Dhruv Jurel took over behind the stumps, the latter, going by the rule, was not allowed to bat. Which meant, Pant was forced to come out in crutches before batting in the first innings for India, taking the game closer and helping the visitors draw the match. In the second innings, the need did not arise for Pant to come out to bat but it sparked a debate about replacements for external injuries.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir had given his approval to the rule while England captain Ben Stokes raised his objections.
Ball change rule for 50-over ties
The ICC had also made some changes to the ODI rules where two new balls will be used for the first 34 overs of an innings, after which the fielding team will choose one of the balls for the remaining overs. This is also a change that is expected to be implemented in the upcoming domestic season.