Sunil Gavaskar, a former Indian cricketer, commented on Chris Woakes’ shoulder injury, which caused him to leave the pitch in the 57th over of India’s first innings on Day 1 of the fifth Test. The incident occurred after Woakes landed awkwardly on his left shoulder while attempting to halt Karun Nair‘s boundary hit.
Chris Woakes received prompt medical attention from the England physio,
and he was spotted walking back to the dressing room with his jumper as a makeshift sling. Gavaskar questioned the bowler’s risk, claiming that stopping the ball to save one run was unlikely to have a big impact on the match and would come at a great personal cost.
“First and foremost, I don’t understand fast bowlers trying to save one run. Your main job is to bowl. So that one run is not going to make a huge difference unless it is such a tight match, you are coming towards the end. I see these fast bowlers diving and sliding. I believe they should not be doing it,” Gavaskar said on Sony Sports as quoted by NDTV Sports.
Notably, in cricket, a like-for-like replacement is permitted only in the case of a concussion under the concussion substitute rule. In all other injury scenarios, a substitute fielder may be used for fielding or wicketkeeping duties, but they are not allowed to bat or bowl.
“If it is an obvious injury and it is clearly something that you have seen happen. A break or fracture for example. There should be a like-for-like substitute. You are allowing for a wicketkeeper if he is injured, but not in the playing XI. For example we saw Dhruv Jurel coming and keeping wicket in the previous game (Manchester Test). You are allowing that because that is Rishabh Pant’s speciality,” Gavaskar added.
Woakes’ absence in the fifth Test has left England’s bowling attack lacking experience, with the remaining bowlers collectively holding just 18 Test caps. Before being sidelined, Woakes bowled 14 overs on Day 1, finishing with figures of 1 for 46. Over the course of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, he has bowled 181 overs, picking up 11 wickets.
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