BCCI to allow 'Serious Injury' replacements

In the aftermath of Rishabh Pant's injury during the fourth Test of the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has now confirmed to allow a replacement for players with serious injuries. The rule will currently apply to only multi-day events in the Indian domestic cricket events, organized by BCCI or its affiliates for the 2025-26 season onwards.

The BCCI has added a new clause to its Playing Conditions under the Serious Injury section, where a player who has undergone an extreme injury during an ongoing game which does not allow him to take any further part in the game, then a replacement may be allowed in such case.

"If a player sustains a serious injury during the course of the relevant match, a Serious Injury Replacement may be permitted in the following circumstances. The serious injury must have been sustained during play and within the playing area described in clause," the latest law reads, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

The rule will come in effect from as early as the Duleep Trophy 2025, which marks the start of the upcoming domestic season. It is expected that the rule will be welcomed by the teams with a smile of their face, but the board needs to be wary of possible loophole exploitations, which could lead to unfair advantage. However, no official confirmation regarding the aforementioned rule has been made yet by the Indian cricketing body. 

Very important to have this rule: Gautam Gambhir

Following the Manchester Test, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir had come in support of allowing replacement for player(s) who have undergone serious injury(s) during the course of a game. He believes that if match referees can assess the gravity of the injury, and they feel so, then an injury replacement can always be allowed for that particular player.

"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 had opined.