England has been dealt a big injury blow as all-rounder Chris Woakes has suffered a shoulder injury. The pacer suffered the blow while fielding in the 57th over during the first Day of the ongoing fifth Test against India at the Oval Test on Thursday, July 31. The veteran, who has been leading the attack for the hosts, is also an integral part of the team with bat in hand, left the field clutching his shoulder.
Considering the pacer bowler's injury, it appears he won't take further part in the ongoing fifth Test, just as Indian player Rishabh Pant did when he suffered a blow to his right foot during the fourth Test. According to ICC rules, there is no replacement for those who suffered injury and are ruled out of the Test.
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik is in favour of injury replacement and stated, For the second time in this series, on day one of a Test match, an injury has happened where you get the feeling that the player couldn’t participate in the Test match anymore,” Karthik said to Sky Sports.
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“It begs the question that if it is a proper injury, like what we have noticed on the field with Woakes, maybe the team could ask for a replacement if the match referee feels it’s okay,” he added.
Stuart Broad gives his take on injury replacement
Former England pacer Stuart Broad has also shared his view on the hot topic of injury replacements to be available on both sides.
“There are decent arguments either way, aren’t there?. It would certainly improve the standard and quality of cricket if you could keep it at 11-v-11 throughout the game, especially when it’s unusual injuries, like Pant’s last week or what has happened with Woakes. He has not come into the game with that sole injury or is trying to manage an injury,” said Broad.
England Test skipper Ben Stokes spoke about the subject and was against the ICC providing injury replacements, even if players were ruled out of the game after the first day itself.
“I think it’s ridiculous that there’s a conversation around an injury replacement,” Stokes had said during the post-match press conference of the fourth Test, where India managed to draw the game with gritty knocks from KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar at Old Trafford.
“I think that there would just be too many loopholes for teams to be able to go through. You pick your 11 for a game; injuries are part of the game. I completely understand the concussion replacement: player welfare, player safety. But I think the conversation should just honestly stop around injury replacements because if you stick me in an MRI scanner, I could get someone else in straightaway,” he added.
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“If you stick anyone else with an MRI scanner, a bowler is going to show, ‘Oh yeah, you’ve got a bit of inflammation around your knee. Oh, sweet, we can get another fresh bowler in. I just think that conversation should be shut down and stopped,” said Stokes.
The debate about injury replacements is slowly gathering steam, with two players- Pant and Waokes out of action for the remainder of the Test, ICC has a decision to make.
