Brad Hogg weighs in on the concussion substitute rule
Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg has weighed in on the concussion substitute debate stating that it is better to have no substitutes at all rather than having one for only one type of injury. Hogg is also concerned about teams taking undue advantage of the rule and wants the player substituted to be out for the next game as well.
Brad Hogg, 49, has represented Australia in 123 ODIs, 15 T20Is, and 7 Test matches. The left-arm wrist-spinner has 181 victims across formats in international cricket.
The Western Australian's comments have come on the back of opposition teams and other stakeholders expressing concerns about the genuineness of concussion substitutions made.
“Either have a sub for all injuries or none at all. If subbed you can't play the next fixture in that format and competition no matter the length of time between fixtures. Stops any corrupt behaviour,” Brad Hogg tweeted.
The concussion substitute rule ran into controversy during the recently-concluded limited-overs series between India and Australia. Yuzvendra Chahal came on as the concussion substitute for Ravindra Jadeja after he suffered a blow to the head. Sections of the cricketing fraternity expressed reservations if it was a case of a like-for-like replacement.
Limiting substitutions to the concussion substitute rule has once again come under the scanner
The International Cricket Council (ICC) brought in the 'concussion substitute' rule in July 2019. Since then, the rule has sparked quite a lot of debates. One major concern is to do with allowing substitutions for injuries that do not include concussions.
During the recently-concluded Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka, as many as three frontline Sri Lankan bowlers suffered injuries and had to go off the field. As many as five players were injured by the end of the game, which left head coach Mickey Arthur fuming about the absence of a law allowing substitutes.
“We might only have six fit players to finish a test match. That’s not good enough for anybody – our team, the TV audience and the opposition,” Mickey Arthur said.
India, too lost Umesh Yadav's services due to an injury to the calf muscle at the start of the second innings in the second Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket ground.