India vs Bangladesh: First time ever - Bangladesh make two concussion substitutes in one match
Liton was looking good on 15 when a quick Shami delivery thudded on to his helmet. He took off his helmet immediately and took a look as Shami walked up to apologise.
For the first time in cricket, two players from the same XI were replaced using the ‘concussion sub’ rule during Day 1 of the India vs Bangladesh Day/Night at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Friday. Bangladesh wicket-keeper batsman Liton Das and off-spinner Nayeem Hasan were replaced by Mehidy Hasan and Taijul Islam for the remainder of this Test match. Both Liton and Nayeem suffered blows on the head off Mohammed Shami’s bowling.
Incidentally, both Mehidy and Taijul were dropped for this Test but Bangladesh had no choice but to bring them back into the XI after Liton and Nayeem were deemed unfit by the physio and match officials. The Bangladesh Cricket Board’s decision not to call in replacements for injured batsman Saif Hassan and Mosaddek Hossain came to light as the team management was forced to name Mehidy, primarily an off-spinner, as a concussion for Liton, who is a proper batsman.
Mehidy, who will be eligible to bat in this Test match as ICC rules only allows like-for-like replacements.
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As par latest inputs, both Liton and Nayeem have been taken for scans.
Liton was hit on the helmet at the stroke off lunch in the 21st over by a rising Mohammed Shami bouncer. The gutsy wicket-keeper batsman collected a four off the very next ball after initial assistance from the physios but felt uneasy in Ishant Sharma’s next over, forcing the umpires to call for lunch with two deliveries of that over still to be completed.
After lunch, Nayeem was the next to feel the pinch of a Mohammed Shami bouncer in the 23rd over. The physios rushed in, the Indian players including Shami looked concerned. But for everyone’s grace, Nayeem was ready and just like Liton he too decided to carry on and hit two boundaries off Shami in the same over. He hit two more in Shami’s next over. Nayeem’s cameo was cut short by Ishant Sharma, who cleaned him for 19.
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It was during Bangladesh’s innings break that the physios rechecked Nayeem and decided to replace him left-arm spinner Taijul Islam.
The concussion came into being from August 1 2019 and Australia’s Steve Smith was the first to be replaced by Marnus Labuschagne during the 2nd Ashes Test.