ENG vs IND 2025: Gautam Gambhir wants injury replacements in Tests, Ben Stokes labels idea 'ridiculous"

Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir and England captain Ben Stokes expressed differing views regarding the introduction of a replacement player when a serious external injury occurs during a Test match. The issue gained attention after Indian vice-captain Rishabh Pant suffered a fractured toe while batting on the opening day of the Manchester Test.

Despite the injury, Pant returned to the crease and managed to score 17 more runs to complete his half-century. Following this, Dhruv Jurel took over wicketkeeping duties as a substitute for the remainder of the match. Gambhir showed strong support for a rule that would allow teams to bring in a replacement player in such situations, emphasising that it would help maintain fairness and prevent the contest from becoming unbalanced due to an injured 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 [the injury] very visible,” Gambhir told media after the drawn Manchester Test.

"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.

Stokes dismissed concerns that introducing such a rule might lead to abuse or manipulation. Under the current regulations, replacements are permitted only in cases of concussion or if a player contracts Covid-19 during the match.

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

"If you stick anyone else with an MRI scanner, a bowler is going to show, 'Oh yeah, you've got a bit of inflammation around your knee. Oh sweet, we can get another fresh bowler in'. I just think that conversation should be shut down and stopped," he added.