Michael Vaughan unintentionally justifies India's controversial Harshit Rana-Shivam Dube concussion sub

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has given a confusing remark on the controversial concussion substitution that became the headlines after the fourth T20I between India and England in Pune.

Vaughan had earlier expressed surprise at the decision to allow Harshit Rana as the concussion substitute for Shivam Dube. He argued how a fast bowler like Rana can replace Dube as a substitute for a like-for-like replacement.

"How can an out & out bowler replace a batter who bowls part time," Vaughan posted on X (formerly Twitter).

How can an out & out bowler replace a batter who bowls part time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #INDvsENG

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) January 31, 2025

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Michael Vaughan takes a shocking U-turn

Initially, Michael Vaughan was surprised over Harshit Rana's inclusion in place of Shivam Dube. However, the former England skipper admitted that England would have done the same thing if they had a chance to replace a player.

"I have to say, the substitute, how did they find Harshit Rana as a like-to-like for Shivam Dube? An out-and-out bowler to replace a batter that bowls some part-time stuff is beyond me," Michael Vaughan observed.

"England would have done the same by the way, if they had a chance to replace the player. But, you can't tell me that Harshit is a like-to-like replacement for Shivam Dube," he added.

Why was Shivam Dube replaced?

After playing a blinder in the first innings, Shivam Dube was hit flush on the helmet by a 141.5 kph bouncer from Jamie Overton in the last over. After the completion of India's innings, he felt a concussion and was allowed to be replaced by another player with like-for-like qualities.

However, the Indian team management forwarded the name of Harshit Rana to the match referee Javagal Srinath and surprisingly, it got approved as well. India had Ramandeep Singh as a like-for-like replacement for Dube but India chose to field Harshit Rana.

Rana has a lot more pace than Dube but isn't a capable batter like him. He had a fantastic T20I debut and returned figures of 3-33 in four overs. The youngster bowled at a good pace and used his variations well.

Jos Buttler disappointed with the decision

England captain Jos Buttler later expressed his disappointment over this decision. While he didn't blame this as the reason for the defeat, he disagreed with such kind of a concussion replacement.

"It's part of the game and we really should have gone on to win the match, but we disagree with the decision," Buttler said after the match.

India went on to win the match by 15 runs as they bowled England out for 166. Harshit Rana was the pick of the bowlers for India with three wickets while Varun Chakravarthy finished with 2-28 in four overs.

Notably, some former India cricketers like Aakash Chopra and Irfan Pathan also raised questions over Rana being allowed to replace Dube and suggested ICC to provide more clarity on the concussion substitute rule.