Kingston: India skipper Virat Kohli has endorsed the new ICC rule on concussion substitutes. He has said it makes total sense to replace a player in such situations during a Test match as signs of trauma from a body blow can show up late.
On the fourth day of the second Test, the West Indies were forced to name Jermaine Blackwood as the concussion substitute for Darren Bravo after the batsman was stuck on the side of his helmet by a Jasprit Bumrah delivery in the last over on day three.
Even though Darren Bravo resumed his innings on the fourth day morning, he couldn’t carry on for long as delayed concussion symptoms showed up and was forced to retire hurt when batting on 23.
“Well I think it makes sense. Test cricket is very different because on that day you can play but when you come out the next day it’s a different situation all together,” Virat Kohli said when asked about his views on concussion substitutes.
“AB (de Villiers) got hit in the IPL this year against Jasprit (Bumrah). The night he played he was fine but the next morning he was dizzy. So, I think it makes total sense in Test cricket because when you wake up the next day you are totally different from what you were on the day when you got hit. That’s what concussion does to you. So I am all for concussion substitutes, it makes total sense,” added Virat Kohli.
Last month, Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne became the first like-for-like substitute after Steve Smith was ruled out of the second Ashes Test in Lord’s after being down with concussion following a blow to his neck by England pacer Jofra Archer.
Under the new ICC rule, a player who has been concussed either while batting, bowling or on the field, can be withdrawn from the game and be replaced subject to approval by the match referee.
“I think it should be an open choice to pick any kind of batsman that you can,” Kohli said. “You only have 15-16 people in the squad so you don’t have more than five people to choose from and invariably three of them would be bowlers,” Kohli pointed out.
PTI