England captain Jos Buttler expressed his disagreement with India's decision to bring in Harshit Rana as a concussion substitute for Shivam Dube during the fourth T20I in Pune. The move played a crucial role in India's 15-run victory, sealing a 3-1 series lead in the five-match contest.

Dube, who scored 53 off 34 balls, was struck on the helmet by a Jamie Overton delivery in the 19.5th over, triggering the concussion protocol. India replaced him with Rana, who later made a match-winning impact by taking three wickets, including that of Liam Livingstone.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Buttler was vocal in his criticism. "We don't agree with the concussion substitute. It's not a like-for-like replacement," he stated.

With a touch of sarcasm, he added, “I think either Shivam Dube put on 25 mph with the ball or Harshit Rana has improved a lot with his batting.”

As per the concussion protocol, a like-for-like replacement is allowed. India argued that Rana was a suitable substitute for Dube, who bowls medium pace and is often used as an impact player for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL. Notably, Rana also has a Ranji Trophy century to his name.

India's bowling coach, Morne Morkel, defended the decision, stating that the team merely followed procedure. "We only gave a name to the match referee. After that, it's out of our hands. Harshit was having dinner when he was called in. He had to quickly get up and go out. I thought he did an excellent job," Morkel said.

India has previously navigated the grey area of concussion substitutions, most notably during the 2020-21 T20I series against Australia. In that instance, Yuzvendra Chahal was brought in to replace Ravindra Jadeja, despite Jadeja's hamstring issue being more of a concern than the head injury.

Friday’s move allowed India to maximise their resources—getting the best of Dube’s batting and Rana’s pace, a decision that ultimately played a decisive role in their victory.