If anyone in future looks for the meaning of bravery on the cricket field, they will need to have a look at the events of 11 January, 2021 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Rishabh Pant with a bruised elbow, Ashwin Ravichandran with a dodgy back and Hanuma Vihari on one leg made the 4.15 AM alarm in India worth a ring. The trio, along with a usually defiant Cheteshwar Pujara, put their bodies in line to add another chapter in a cricket-tragic tale. Maybe with these efforts, Pant might get a bit more respect, Ashwin a bit more love and Vihari a bit more surety about his place in the playing XI.
But, as India kept fighting, two recent rule changes raised some eyebrows on both sides. The first being the rule change made in 2017 about allowing a keeper substitute and the other, which came into effect in 2011, of not allowing a runner for an injured batsman.
Let’s start with the keeper-sub first because of which India could enjoy the best of both worlds. They got a better…