Pondicherry lose after Goa refuse concussion substitute

CHENNAI: Concussion substitutes, which have become a feature of international cricket in the last few months, became a talking point during Pondicherry's Ranji Trophy clash against Goa on Tuesday.
Battling for a draw on the fourth and final day while chasing a target of 266 from 79 overs (64 mandatory overs + 15 in the final hour), Pondicherry were 184 for 9 in the 66th over when Fabid Ahmed (batting on 56) suffered a blow on his head off Felix Alemao's bowling and had to be taken to the hospital.While scans later indicated that Ahmed is fine, he had to retire hurt at the time. As a result, Pondicherry had to fold their innings for the loss of nine wickets and suffered an 81-run defeat.
While concussion substitutes have been allowed in international cricket since August last year, they have not yet taken effect in Indian domestic cricket. Pondicherry skipper D Rohit, however, asked match referee Vishnu Vardhan whether a substitute could be allowed for the injured Ahmed, but Rohit's request was rejected as his Goa counterpart Amit Verma did not agree. As a result, Pondicherry had to fold their innings for the loss of nine wickets and suffered an 81-run defeat.
BCCI GM, Cricket Operations, Saba Karim clarified that although there is no ruling on concussion substitutes in domestic cricket yet, any player can be replaced if he is injured and ruled out of the entire game provided the opposition captain approves.
"Concussion substitutes as such are not allowed in Indian domestic cricket. Here, it depends on the opposing captain. If a player is injured and ruled out of the entire game, then a substitute from the squad can come in and bat and bowl provided the opposition captain gives his consent. This applies to any injury, not just to cases of concussion," Karim told TOI on Tuesday.
Goa's Verma said that he was simply going by the rule book. "The match referee did ask me whether I would be willing to allow a substitute to come in. But I went by the rules. If it was the rule that a substitute can come in, I would have had no problem. It was a very important match for us and there was no reason to not go by the rules. We did feel bad that a player has got hit. We did not even celebrate after our win," Verma stated.