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"Absolutely Ridiculous": Ben Stokes Opposes Gambhir's Idea Of Injury Replacements

Rajgeeta Yadav

Ben Stokes and India coach Gautam Gambhir [Source: ANI/X.com]Ben Stokes and India coach Gautam Gambhir [Source: ANI/X.com]

A recent injury to India star cricketer Rishabh Pant during the fourth Test match between India and England has sparked a heated debate. The injury happened on Day 1 of the Test at Old Trafford, Manchester, when Pant fractured his toe while trying a risky shot against England’s Chris Woakes. 

Even though he managed to score some runs despite being in pain, he couldn’t continue as the wicketkeeper. This situation got former cricketers talking about whether injury substitutes should be allowed in international cricket.

On one side of the debate is Gautam Gambhir, India’s head coach, who believes it’s time for cricket to introduce a rule allowing player substitutions for serious injuries. On the other side is Ben Stokes, England’s Test captain, who strongly disagrees with the idea.

Gautam Gambhir Supports Injury Replacements

Speaking after the match, Gambhir said,

"Absolutely, I'm all for it. If the umpires and the match referee sees and feels that is a major injury, I think it's very important. It's very important to have this rule where you can get a substitute - that is, if it's very visible. 

"There's nothing wrong in doing that, especially in a series like this where it's been such a closely-fought series in the previous three Test matches. Imagine if we would've had to play with 10 men against 11. How unfortunate would this be for us," he added.

However, Ben Stokes had a completely opposite view. He called the idea of injury replacements "absolutely ridiculous." He explained that cricket teams might start abusing the rule and using it to their advantage, rather than only for genuine injuries.

"I think it's absolutely ridiculous that there's a conversation around an injury replacement," Stokes said. "


"I think that there would just be too many loopholes for teams to be able to go through. You pick your 11 for a game; injuries are part of the game. I completely understand the concussion replacement: player welfare, [and] player safety. But I think the conversation should just honestly stop around injury replacements because if you stick me in an MRI scanner, I could get someone else in straightaway."

What Happened To Rishabh Pant? 

Rishabh Pant, during the first innings of the fourth Test, injured his toe but still came out to bat and helped India with some runs. However, he couldn’t keep wickets after that. As a result, some former players said that modern-day cricket should have injury substitutes, just like there are replacements for players with concussions or COVID-19.

Unfortunately for India, Pant has now been ruled out of the fifth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar. India have called up Narayan Jagadeesan for his first-ever Test match and it remains to be seen whether he or Dhruv Jurel, the backup keeper, will play.