Team India all-rounder Shardul Thakur has said that any new rule allowing a substitute to replace an injured player in Test cricket should come into effect only from the next World Test Championship (WTC) cycle as well. He also shared that introducing a new substitution rule in the ongoing WTC cycle would be unfair too as well. His comments came after Rishabh Pant fractured his toe in the ongoing India-England Test in Manchester.

Speaking at a press conference after the end of the second day’s play in Manchester on Thursday, July 24, Thakur said, “I think there is some discussion going on. I was reading it in the news. Whether that should come into play or not, right now I can’t say much. But, if it happens, I would say it should happen after this WTC cycle. It shouldn’t happen in the middle because a few series are being played as part of WTC. It would be unfair when it comes to the points table and qualifying for the finals, looking at the WTC cycle.”

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Despite Rishabh Pant’s important knock, Team India were bundled out for a below-par total of 358 in their first innings as well. However, England had a great start and they were 225-2 at stumps after 46 overs as well.

“With the new ball, we could have been better. We were trying to hold it back, but runs kept flowing. It wasn’t difficult for bowlers. We could have had much more patience in terms of bowling the channel, which we didn’t. There were few deliveries, which we bowled well and there were few deliveries that just went for boundaries. We need to evaluate the kind of deliveries we need to stick to,” Shardul Thakur concluded.