Pakistan leg-spinner Usama Mir became the first-ever concussion substitute in the ODI World Cup history. Usama had been dropped by Pakistan for their Cricket World Cup 2023 match against South Africa in Chennai.
However, he then got to participate in the match as a concussion substitute for Shadab Khan, who got injured while fielding during South Africa’s innings.
Cricket World Cup 2023: What is a concussion substitute in cricket?
According to the ICC new rules, a team can replace a player with a like-for-like player (for example leg-spinner Shadab for replaced by leg-spinner Usama) from the benched players after being allowed by the ICC. The replaced player is monitored by the team doctor for concussion and if the doctor feels the player shouldn’t take further part in the game, then the team can opt for a like-for-like concussion substitute during the match.
This was needed by Pakistan when Shadab Khan injured himself while fielding in the first over of South Africa’s chase. He tried to pick the ball after Temba Bavuma tapped it to mid-on, but Shadab lost balance, fell awkwardly, and hit his head on the ground.
The physio did help him recover. Shadab then left the field. Then during the 15th over, Pakistan introduced Usama Mir as Shadab’s concussion substitute. Mir had an instant impact as he dismissed Rassie van der Dussen for 21 runs. Usama then made another late dent by dismissing Aiden Markram who had scored 91 runs and was taking South Africa to a win.
In a must-win game for Pakistan, Babar Azam had won the toss and elected to bat first. Pakistan suffered another collapse as they went from 225/5 to 270 all-out, which might be a below-par score on this pitch which has played well today. Tabraiz Shamsi took 4 wickets while Marco Jansen took three.
South Africa are looking comfortable in their chase. Aiden Markram has anchored the chase brilliantly with his half-century while others have attacked around him. At the time of writing, South Africa needs 35 runs in 75 balls.
Cricket World Cup 2023 Teams:
South Africa (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi
Pakistan (Playing XI): Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Saud Shakeel, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf
