India secured a hard-fought 15-run victory over England to seal the T20I series in Pune on Friday, but the match was overshadowed by a contentious concussion substitution from the hosts that raised eyebrows. Pacer Harshit Rana replaced batting all-rounder Shivam Dube, a decision that sparked outrage, particularly among England’s players and pundits.

The controversy unfolded in the final over of India’s innings when Dube, who had played a vital knock of 53, was hit on the helmet by a bouncer from Jamie Overton. After being assessed on the field, Dube was cleared to face the last ball of the over.

However, India were later permitted to bring in Harshit as a concussion replacement. This substitution allowed Rana to bowl in England’s run chase, where he played a pivotal role in India's victory.

England’s frustration boiled over as they questioned the fairness of the replacement. Dube, a batting all-rounder who rarely bowls, was replaced by Harshit, a fast bowler renowned for consistently bowling at speeds near 90mph. Under ICC guidelines, concussion substitutes must be "like-for-like," a rule England felt had been violated.

Former captain Michael Vaughan took to his official X account to express his frustration, saying, “How can an out & out bowler replace a batter who bowls part time.”

However, shortly after the match ended, Vaughan surprisingly conceded that England “would've done the same thing” if they were in a similar position. The remark was in contrast to his earlier frustrations; however, India didn't violate the rule, and so, the former England captain suggested that the English team would've made a similar call.

"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. 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," Vaughan said.

Buttler criticised decision

England skipper Jos Buttler didn't agree with India's decision to use Harshit Rana as a concussion substitute, too.

"We don't agree with concussion substitute. It's not a like for like replacement," Buttler said at the post match media conference.

Rana played a key role taking 3 wickets including that of Liam Livingstone and Buttler raised the question if the concussion rule was followed in letter and spirit.

"I think either Shivam Dube put on 25 mph with the ball or Harshit Rana has improved a lot with his batting," the skipper said.

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