England Skipper Ben Stokes Wants 'Ridiculous' Injury Substitutes Conversation 'Shut Down And Stopped'

Manchester: Following a draw at Manchester during the fourth Test, England skipper Ben Stokes gave his take on the idea of having an "injury replacement", with the debate taking place about the same as Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant batted despite an injured foot during the match, with Dhruv Jurel taking his place behind the wickets. 

The Manchester Test would be remembered for India's patience and bravery. Bravery not only against a solid England attack, which resulted in three match-saving centuries from skipper Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, but also of Pant, who came back to field with a bat in hand despite an injured foot. The left-hander went on to score a half-century and contributed some valuable runs in India's first innings total of 358. Pant's act of resilience, bravery, and determination earned him plaudits from fans and ex-players worldwide. 

Following the match, the Indian head coach confirmed Pant was out of the squad for the fifth Test, with the Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batter Narayan Jagadeesan being added as his replacement. He also spoke about whether he was supportive of a substitute rule, as long as it is like-for-like, saying, "I am all for it. And if the umpires and the match referee see and feel that there is a major injury, I think it is very important. It is very important to have this rule so that you can get a substitute. Especially in a series like this, where it has been such a closely fought series in the previous three test matches. Imagine if you had to play with 10 men against 11. How unfortunate would this be for us?" To this, Stokes replied that having the conversation around the topic is "ridiculous" and that there would be too many loopholes for the teams to go through. 

#WATCH | Manchester, UK | On being asked if he recommends substitutes in case of external injuries like in the case of Rishabh Pant, England Men's Test captain Ben Stokes says, "... I think it's absolutely ridiculous that there is a conversation around an injury replacement. I… pic.twitter.com/w2Q00M5Xt5

— ANI (@ANI) July 27, 2025

"I think it's absolutely ridiculous that there's a conversation around an injury replacement," he said. 

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"You pick your 11 for a game; injuries are part of the game. I completely understand the concussion replacement: player welfare, [and] 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. 

"If you stick anyone else with an MRI scanner, a bowler is going to show, 'Oh yeah, you have 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," the all-rounder added. 

Coming to the match, England opted to field first. Half-centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal (58 in 107 balls, with 10 fours and a six), Sai Sudharsan (61 in 151 balls, with seven fours) and Rishabh Pant (54 in 75 balls, with three fours and two sixes) took India to 358 runs, with Stokes (5/72) troubling the visitors with timely wickets and not letting a massive partnership happen. Jofra Archer also took 3/73. 

In the second innings, Zak Crawley (84 in 113 balls, with 13 fours and a six) and Ben Duckett (94 in 100 balls, with 13 fours) produced a 166-run stand for the opening wicket, sending India on leather hunt. The presence of Joe Root (150 in 248 balls, with 14 fours) and Stokes (141 in 198 balls, with 12 fours and a six) aggravated Indian bowlers, who saw these two produce milestone after milestone on their way to a 311-run lead. England was skittled out for 669 runs, with Ravindra Jadeja (4/143) being the pick of the bowlers. Jasprit Bumrah (2/112) had an off day at work. 

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After Chris Woakes reduced India to 0/2, KL Rahul (90 in 230 balls, with eight fours) and skipper Shubman Gill (103 in 238 balls, with 12 fours) caused England's faces to tense, batting three sessions for an 188-run stand. After these two were done, the spin all-rounder duo of Jadeja (107* in 185 balls, with 13 fours and a six) and Washington Sundar (101* in 206 balls, with nine fours and a six) rattled and frustrated England with their resolve and wall-like presence, taking India to a 114-run lead, ending at 425/4 in a draw. 

The series is still alive at 1-2, with the final match at The Oval to start from July 31. 

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)