5 emergency replacements before a big tournament

Indian cricket team called up seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar as a cover for the doubtful Mohammad Shami before the ICC T20 World Cup, which starts tonight with India facing New Zealand in Nagpur. Mohammad Shami’s injury has been a cause of concern for the Indian team management for the last one year or so. Shami bowled in the warm-up games recently and looked in decent condition. However, as the Indian team management doesn’t want to take any risk, they have called Bhuvneshwar as a cover for Shami.There have been instances like these in the past too when a team had to make an emergency call-up to cover for an injured player before a big tournament like the world cup. India too did something like that last year in the 2015 Cricket World Cup.Let’s have a look at 5 such instances when a player was called to cover for an injured player either before a big tournament or during that tournament:

#5 Parthiv Patel

Parthiv was called in as a backup option for MS Dhoni before the Asia Cup 2016

The diminutive left-hand wicketkeeper-batsman from Gujarat was called to cover for the Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni before the Asia Cup 2016. It was reported that the Indian skipper MS Dhoni was doubtful for the Asia Cup after suffering muscle spasm in his back during a training session in Dhaka before the Asia Cup.

However, Dhoni played the entire tournament and won the final against Bangladesh by hitting two gigantic sixes.

So it seems that the two Asian countries always have a history of emergency call-ups either before a big tournament or during a big tournament.

#4 Kithruwan Vithanage

Vithanage joined the squad as a cover for injured Chandimal

It seems that Sri Lanka’s affair with cover players is an eternal one. In the 2015 ICC World Cup, left-hand batsman Kithruwan Vithanage was called as cover for the injured Dinesh Chandimal.

Chandimal, who batted for the first time in the 2015 World Cup in their game against Australia and hit an unbeaten 52, injured his hamstring in the course of that knock. His 22-ball half-century was followed by him retiring hurt because of his hamstring problem. Sri Lanka had umpteen injury problems during the 2015 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

#3 Chaminda Vaas and Suraj Randiv

Chaminda Vaas and Suraj Randiv were called in to cover for Muralidharan and Mathews

Sri Lankan team riding high on confidence before the 2011 World Cup final, received a jolt when there were injury concerns over Muttiah Muralitharan and Angelo Mathews, two key members of the squad.

Sri Lankan team called up Chaminda Vaas and Suraj Randiv as covers for the injured players before the grand finale. Both Vaas and Randiv were not part of the World Cup squad and it was due to an emergency that these two got a call to be with the Sri Lankan team.

Randiv also went on to play in the final which India won comprehensively and won the World Cup after 28 years.

#2 Seekkuge Prasanna

Seekkuge Prasanna joined the Sri Lanka squad in the World Cup as cover for injured Rangana Herath

Sri Lanka called-up Seekkuge Prasanna as a cover for injured left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for the 2015 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup. The 29-year-old was not picked for the showpiece tournament earlier.

Prasanna was with the Sri Lankan squad which faced New Zealand in a seven-game series on the eve of the World Cup. He was called for the mega-event when veteran spinner Herath hurt his spinning finger badly while trying to stop a full-blooded drive from England’s Jos Buttler during a group stage game in the World Cup.

#1 Dhawal Kulkarni

Dhawal Kulkarni stayed as cover for Bhuvneshwar Kumar during the 2015 Cricket World Cup

The Mumbai bowler didn’t make it to the 15-member India squad for the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. However, he was asked to stay back in Australia with the Indian team as a cover for swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Bhuvneswar had an issue while landing on his delivery stride during India’s first warm-up game against Australia. So Kulkarni was asked to stay back as cover for the injured seamer. But as the rules of the International Cricket Council suggest that only 15 members can be registered as players in the World Cup tournament, the right-arm-medium pacer from Mumbai stayed with the team as part of the team management.

Even there were reports that the Board of Control for Cricket in India had to pay around Rs 2.4 crore to the ICC for carrying additional team members.