Iceland Cricket took a sharp dig at former England captain Michael Vaughan after he criticized India’s decision to name Harshit Rana as a concussion substitute for Shivam Dube in the fourth T20I against England at the MCA Stadium in Pune. The controversy emerged after Dube, who scored a vital knock of 53 runs, was hit on the helmet off a bouncer from Jamie Overton in the final over of India’s innings.

After conducting a medical evaluation, he was replaced by Rana, a specialist fast bowler, for the remainder of the match. This substitution brought controversy since more than a few cricketing gurus had strong doubts if such a replacement was in keeping with the “like-for-like” rule.

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Michael Vaughn tweeted X, “How can an out & out bowler replace a batter who bowls part-time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #INDvsENG.” Iceland Cricket responded in return with: “We didn’t need to check the score. We knew England must have lost.”

We didn’t need to check the score. We knew England must have lost. https://t.co/JTxhdfCBtz

— Iceland Cricket (@icelandcricket) January 31, 2025

England captain Jos Buttler also voiced his opinion about the change at the post-match media conference. He said, “It’s not a like-for-like replacement. We don’t agree with that. Either Shivam Dube has put on about 25 mph with the ball or Harshit’s really improved his batting. It’s part of the game, and we really should have gone on to win the match, but we disagree with the decision.”

Despite the backlash, India’s decision to introduce Rana seemed like a masterstroke. In his first game of T20Is, the young pacer showed a match-winning spell by conceding 3 for 33 in four overs. He bagged his first international wicket in the 12th over when Sanju Samson caught behind Liam Livingstone.

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Rana again struck in the 16th over as Jacob Bethell scored just six runs, and Suryakumar Yadav judged the catch perfectly. He concluded his dream debut by castling Jamie Overton on the last ball of his spell, almost sealing the match for India, leaving no room for England to level the series. While the debate over concussion substitution rages on, there is no denying that Harshit Rana made an unforgettable start to his international career.