India vs Australia: Gavaskar defends Kohli's men on concussion substitute rule

Bengaluru, Decemebr 5: Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has flayed critics for the furore they created over leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal replacing all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as concussion substitute in the 1st T20I between Australia and India at Canberra on Friday (December 4).

Chahal, who was not in original squad, came in as concussion substitute for Jadeja and grabbed three for 25 in a match-winning performance much to the chagrin of the Aussies.

Australia's coach Justin Langer was seen in an animated conversation with International Cricket Council (ICC) Match Referee and his former team-mate David Boon just before the start of the hosts run chase.

Many ex-players as well as television pundits criticised India's decision to bring in Chahal in place of Jadeja as they felt he was not a like-for-like substitute as the ICC rule says.

Critics also said India blatantly misused the concussion substitute rule to their benefit as Jadeja was not attended on the ground after he was hit on the helmet by a rising ball from Mitchell Starc.

However Gavaskar said there was nothing wrong with the decision as the ICC match referee, himself an Aussie had no objection to it.

"You can argue that Chahal's not an all-rounder, but any bowler who goes out with the bat, whether he scores one run or 100 runs, is an all-rounder, as far as I'm concerned," Gavaskar was quoted as saying by the India Today news channel.

Like-for-like concussion substitutes were introduced by ICC last year to ensure players' safety against head injuries.

Gavaskar felt India did nothing wrong against the spirit of the game.

"And he (Chahal) bowls, so it's a like-for-like replacement, and the Australian match referee had no objection to that. So I don't see why there is so much of noise about it."

Jadeja was later ruled out of the remainder of the T20 series with fast bowler Shardul Thakur replacing him in the squad.

With a 1-0 lead, India take on the hosts in the second T20 at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday (December 6).

The series winds up at the same venue on Tuesday (December 8).

(With inputs from Agencies)