India will not be able to bring a full substitute for R Ashwin after he pulled out of the ongoing Test against England due to a family emergency.

Ashwin withdrew from the Test late on Friday night, hours after he picked up his 500th wicket. The hosts will now play the remainder of the Test with 10 players along with a fielding substitute as the ICC playing conditions only allow a member of the XI to be replaced fully by a player who can bat and bowl in the case of either a concussion or a Covid-19 infection. India will, thus, only have four specialist bowlers for the remainder of the Test.

What do the laws say?

According to the MCC Law No.1.2, a player can be nominated and replaced in these circumstances:

• Each captain shall nominate his/her players in writing to one of the umpires before the toss.
• No player may be replaced after the nomination without the consent of the opposing captain.

The latest playing conditions of the World Test Championship  – which supersedes the Laws – further elaborates:

“Each captain shall nominate 11 players plus a maximum of 6 substitute fielders in writing to the ICC Match Referee before the toss. Other than as set out in clauses 1.2.7 and 1.2.8, no player (member of the playing eleven) may be changed after the nomination and prior to the start of play without the consent of the opposing captain.”

Clause 1.2.7 refers to concussion substitutes, wherein, “If a player sustains a concussion or suspected concussion as a result of a head or neck injury during the course of the relevant match, a Concussion Replacement may be permitted.”

There is no clause 1.2.8 in the recent playing conditions, although the 2021-23 regulations referenced steps to replace a player who tested positive for Covid-19 during a game.

I had spoken to an umpire before posting. He has now rechecked and confirmed that the playing conditions changed last year and this can now only be allowed between the toss and start of play. So, deleting earlier tweets since they are rendered irrelevant. https://t.co/8gFKfwbyWT

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 17, 2024

In short, there are currently no regulations that can allow a team to bring in a 12th person to bat or bowl even if the opposing skipper agrees barring concussion after the toss. A substitute fielder will be allowed and Devdutt Padikkal has taken the field for Ashwin on day three at Rajkot.

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