5 players to have made their debut as a concussion sub in any format of international cricket ft. Harshit Rana

India pacer Harshit Rana was involved in a massive controversy during the fourth T20I between the hosts and England in Pune on Friday, January 31. While he was not a part of the initial playing XI, Rana still played the match and impressed with the ball as well.

Harshit Rana replaced Shivam Dube after the first innings and came in as a concussion sub to make his debut for India. During India's batting innings, Dube took a heavy blow on his helmet on the penultimate delivery of the innings and was thus replaced by the pacer when the hosts came out to defend.

India ended up winning the match and also sealed the series 3-1 with the final T20I remaining. While this did not go down well with England as their skipper Jos Buttler was particularly unimpressed, this is not the first instance where a cricketer had made an international debut coming in as a concussion sub across formats.

That said, here are the five cricketers who have made their international debuts across various formats in such a manner.

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#5 Neil Rock

Ireland wicket-keeper batter Neil Rock made his ODI debut in 2022 against the West Indies at Sabina Park coming in as a concussion substitute. He came in for Andy McBrine, who took a blow on his helmet in the 16th over while Ireland were batting in the second half of the match.

McBrine retired hurt on 34 off 50 and did not return to bat as Neil Rock, making his debut, came in at No.9 as a replacement. The 24-year-old scored just five runs off nine deliveries before being dismissed as Ireland eventually lost the match.

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#4 Matt Parkinson

English spinner Matt Parkinson made his Test debut in 2022 under unusual circumstances, coming in as a concussion sub for Jack Leach in the first Test against New Zealand at Lords'. Spinner Leach was injured inside the first hour of play and did not even bowl in the first innings.

Parkinson first walked out to bat in England's first innings and scored 8 runs. He then bowled 15.3 overs and returned with figures of 1/47, dismissing Tim Southee to claim his maiden Test wicket.

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#3 Bahir Shah

Afghanistan batter Bahir Shah made his Test debut in 2023 against Bangladesh in Mirpur, coming in as a concussion sub. The 24-year-old did not bat in the first innings for Afghanistan but walked out to bat in their second innings.

Coming in at No.7, his stay was short-lived as he only managed to score seven runs off 13 deliveries where he also hit a boundary. It is the only Test that Bahir Shah has played so far in his career.

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#2 Kamran Ghulam

Pakistan batter Kamran Ghulam made his ODI debut against New Zealand in Karachi in 2023 coming in as a concussion sub. However, being a batter, his debut was a bit surprising and unusual.

Pakistan batted first and Ghulam was not a part of the playing XI. He came in as a replacement for Haris Sohail, who had scored 22 runs. Since Pakistan's batting was done and Ghulam was a batter, he only got the opportunity to field and thus did not bat or bowl in his debut ODI game.

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#1 Harshit Rana

As mentioned earlier, pacer Harshit Rana made his T20I debut in the fourth match of the ongoing series against England in Pune. Harshit came in as a replacement for Sivam Dube, who suffered a blow to his helmet during India's batting.

While Harshit Rana was not a 'like-for-like' replacement and his inclusion sparked serious debate, the pacer made the most of his opportunity. He returned with figures of 3/33 from four overs. He accounted for the big wickets of Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, and Jamie Overton as India won the game by 15 runs in the end.