Don't See Any Issue With The Concussion Replacement: Anil Kumble On India Replacing Ravindra Jadeja With Yuzvendra Chahal

Former India spinner Anil Kumble has said he does not see anything wrong with India’s use of concussion replacement during the first T20I against Australia on Friday. India opted for Yuzvendra Chahal after Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out of the second half of the game due to concussion.

Jadeja was hit on the head while batting in the final over of India’s innings. India decided to replace him with Chahal during the innings break after he felt dizzy. His replacement Chahal played a key role in India’s 11-run win. In fact, Chahal was the Man of the Match for taking 3 for 25 and helping India defend 161 after Australia were off to a solid start.

But there are questions raised over Jadeja’s replacement with the Australian camp saying that it was not a like-for-like replacement. After the game, Australia allrounder Moises Henriques had questioned whether Chahal was a like-for-like concussion substitute for Jadeja. Anil Kumble, however, sees nothing wrong with it.

“Whenever he got hit [on the head], I don’t think it has got anything to do with replacement,” Anil Kumble said at the launch of ‘The Hitman: The Rohit Sharma Story’, a biography of Rohit Sharma, in Bengaluru.

“Some reports suggested that Jadeja is an all-rounder and they should have played an all-rounder. But then Jadeja had done his part of the batting. So you look at the other skills he brings in. He is a spinner. That’s why a spinner (Chahal) was brought in as like for like replacement.

“If the roles were to be replaced, for example if he was concussed when on the field when India was bowling and if Jadeja had to bat and couldn’t bat then I am sure Chahal wouldn’t have been like for like replacement. You would have looked at some batsman to come in place of Jadeja. I am sure Chahal would have been listed in the 15. I don’t see any issue with the concussion replacement,” explained the former India coach.

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