After Rishabh Pant’s injury in the fourth Test of the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has clarified that players with catastrophic ailments can be replaced. The rule will now apply solely to multi-day events in Indian domestic cricket organised by the BCCI or its affiliates beginning with the 2025-26 season.
The BCCI has added a new condition to its Playing Conditions under the Serious Injury section,
which states that if a player sustains an extreme injury during a game and is unable to continue playing, a replacement may be allowed.
“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.
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.
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