On Monday, England all-rounder Chris Woakes came out to bat with his arm in a sling to support Gus Atkinson, with England needing 17 runs to reach their target of 374. Woakes received a hero’s welcome and stood at the non-striker’s end as Atkinson attempted to steer England to victory.However, Mohammed Siraj held his nerve and cleaned up Atkinson with a searing yorker, handing India a dramatic six-run win and leveling the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2.
The topic of injury substitutions has been a point of debate throughout the series. Former England captain Michael Vaughan had advocated for it, especially after Rishabh Pant sustained an injury and had to be taken off the field on a cart.Speaking on his hindi YouTube channel Ash Ki Baat, former India off-spinner R. Ashwin criticized England captain Ben Stokes, who had dismissed the idea as “ridiculous” when asked about it earlier in the series.“What you sow is what you reap,” Ashwin said.“At Old Trafford, after Rishabh Pant’s injury, the press conference included questions about injury substitution. Gautam Gambhir had said that injuries like these warrant substitutions. Immediately after, the same question was asked to Ben Stokes and he said, ‘It’s absolutely a joke.’“I’m a big fan of Ben Stokes. I admire his attitude. But you need to think before you speak. Today, Chris Woakes walked out with his shoulder tucked into his sweater and gave it his all to help the team win. He almost did it. He was running, showing immense game awareness. Hats off to Chris Woakes — remarkable attitude, remarkable fight, putting his body on the line.”Ashwin added that Vaughan’s point about allowing substitutions is worth considering: “Michael Vaughan said this is one area where the game can evolve. Substitutions should be allowed.”
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Should cricket allow injury substitutions during matches?
“All I’m saying is: show a little empathy for the other team. Stokes should have considered what it would be like if a player of Rishabh Pant’s calibre was in his team and got injured. Wouldn’t you want a substitution? Wouldn’t that be fair?“You are free to share your opinion — but using words like ‘joke’ and ‘ridiculous’ isn’t respectful. Think before you speak.“Karma hits instantly.”
