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Saurabh Nawale became the first serious injury substitute under BCCI’s new rule in the 2025 Duleep Trophy semi-final after Harvik Desai’s quadriceps injury in Bengaluru.
Saurabh Nawale. (Instagram Photo)
Maharashtra batter Saurabh Nawale was brought into the West Zone playing 11 in place of Harvik Desai during the 2025 Duleep Trophy semi-final against Central Zone in Bengaluru on Sunday, becoming the first substitute under the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s new ‘serious injury’ replacement rule.
Desai opened in the first innings and scored 1 (4), getting out to pacer Deepak Chahar, but Ruturaj Gaikwad’s century took West Zone to 438/10. Desai even kept wickets in the second innings, taking the catch for Danish Malewar’s wicket, but Central Zone took a decisive lead, ending their innings at 600/10.
A quadriceps injury was said to have ruled out Desai, wicketkeeper Nawale walked out in the third innings and took guard as number three. Before this serious injury replacement rule was applied wicketkeepers could still be replaced on the field, but the substitutes weren’t allowed to bat or bowl.
Nawale couldn’t make a lasting impact and was cleaned up for 9 (31) by Central off-spinner Saransh Jain. West Zone eventually finished on 216/8 as the players shook hands to accept a draw. Central Zone proceeded into the final against South Zone on the virtue of their first-innings lead.
What is the serious injury replacement rule?
Until a few months ago, ICC only allowed players to get substituted and the replacements to bat or bowl in case of concussions. However, after Rishabh Pant and Chris Woakes suffered a fracture and a shoulder dislocation in the middle of Tests during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, a debate was fired up about whether players with ‘serious’ injuries should be replaced.
The Indian team was in favor of it, but England’s Ben Stokes was vehemently against. Nevertheless, before the start of the domestic season, the BCCI launched the new rule to tackle the issue in multi-day matches. On-field umpires, the match referee, and the team doctor consult to take the call on whether the injury is serious enough to warrant a substitution, with the former having the final call.
“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 rule states. “The serious injury must have been sustained during play and within the playing area described in the clause.”
September 07, 2025, 17:57 IST
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