Harshit Rana makes 'unique' T20I debut after replacing Shivam Dube as concussion substitute

Harshit Rana, on Friday (January 31) made his T20I debut for Team India in an unusual fashion as he came on as a concussion substitute for Shivam Dube during the fourth T20I between India and England at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.

Dube suffered a head injury while batting in the final over of India's innings. On the fifth ball of the 20th over bowled by Jamie Overton, the India allrounder copped a blow on his helmet. It was a short ball from Overton and Dube went for a pull shot but failed to make any connection as the ball hit him on his helmet.

Overton was seen asking Dube if was alright and the India star responded in a positive manner. He also faced the last ball of the innings but did not come out to field. Later, the BCCI gave an update, saying that Harshit Rana has replaced Dube as a concussion substitute.

🚨 UPDATE 🚨

Harshit Rana is the concussion substitute for Shivam Dube.

Follow The Match ▶️ https://t.co/pUkyQwxOA3 #TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @IDFCFIRSTBank

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 31, 2025

Also Read: Watch: Shivam Dube's CSK teammate hits him on the head during IND vs ENG 4th T20I

Before being concussed out, Dube scored a fine fifty to rescue Team India. Asked to bat first in the crucial game, India were in all sorts of trouble after being reduced to 12/3 and then 79/5. However, Dube and Hardik Pandya scored brilliant half-centuries to power Team India to a challenging total of 181/9.

Both the players scored 53 runs each. While Pandya scored his runs off 30 balls, Dube took 34 balls to score 53. It was Dube's first game for Team India since August last year when he played in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. After that series, he was sidelined with a back injury and missed the T20I series against Bangladesh and South Africa.

Harshit Rana's T20I career:

While Harshit Rana made his T20I debut for Team India on Friday, the cricketing fraternity has seen his exploits in the shortest format of the game in the past. He played a key role in Kolkata Knight Riders' triumphant campaign in IPL 2024.

He finished the tournament as the fifth highest wicket-taker, taking an impressive 19 wickets in 13 games. The brilliant display in the IPL also paved the way for his first call-up from the Indian team. Harshit Rana finally made his debut for Team India during the five-match Test series in Australia. So far, he has played 2 Tests for India. In T20s, Harshit Rana has played 25 games and taken 28 wickets.