Leg and Off: Were England distracted by concussion sub controversy heading into IND vs ENG 2025 5th T20I?

England slumped to a 150-run defeat against India at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in the fifth and final T20I of the series on February 2. Jos Buttler and company only won one contest, with close calls in the second and the fourth match during the tour.

The fourth T20I in Pune will be infamously remembered for the concussion substitute controversy. Shivam Dube, after sustaining a blow on his helmet, was replaced by Harshit Rana in the second innings. Since then, there have been questions raised as to how a frontline pacer replaced an all-rounder, who hardly bowls.

On that note, let us take a deep dive into how the incident must have played on England's mind ahead of the fifth T20I, and was there enough for it to be a distraction?

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#1 England have a history of holding onto contentious calls

Whether it be black-and-white calls gone awry, or being on the wrong end of some grey area decisions, England are known to have a hard time letting go. Even though on some occasions, including the most recent one, they were done hard by, it spells trouble if you hold onto it.

Take Jonny Bairstow's stumping at Lord's during the 2023 Ashes for example. The incident was extrapolated and dissected and played a huge role in setting the tone for the rest of the series. On that occasion, England were able to use it as fuel to make a strong comeback in the series, but it was a distraction nonetheless. It did play on their minds for a considerable while.

Before DRS, and even in the modern era, the game is not immune to human errors. The most logical thing to do under such circumstances as a player is to get the immediate reaction out of the way and focus on the next game at hand, while the officials and governing body handle the fallout. But it did not exactly pan out that way.

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#2 Buttler's comments at the toss showed that England have not moved on from the issue

One of the highlights of the fifth T20I, barring Abhishek Sharma's pyrotechnics, was England skipper Jos Buttler's comments during the toss at the Wankhede Stadium. After opting to bowl, and naming the team combination, Buttler listed out the remaining players as 'impact subs'.

His words caught everyone off guard, but more importantly, it was a dead giveaway that England are still bemoaning the alleged injustice that happened against them, and holding on to the issue.

For a calm and composed figure like Buttler to speak out in such a fashion suggested how riled up England truly were. Plenty on the surface, and even more so on the inside. This was a couple of days after the incident, so one can imagine what the mindset was during the buildup to the contest.

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#3 As long as England broods over the injustice instead of their own flaws, it will be a distraction

England had control over how to react, and what to address after the loss in the fourth T20I, given how many takeaways there were. Letting India recover from 12-3, then collapsing in the run chase, should have been the big picture points, with the concussion substitute controversy being the additional factor.

The issue ended up being on top of England's list leapfrogging even grave ones like their woes against spin and plans against Indian batters. An issue only becomes a distraction when it is obsessed over too much, and that is what happened with England.

The visitors were arguably improving in the series as a unit. After the heavy loss in the first T20I, they took India to the limit in the second and fourth T20I, while securing a win in the third. All of that work was undone in the final match as England let the controversy affect them.

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#4 The constant reminders did not help their case

It will hardly be a surprise if the concussion substitute controversy continues to be a talking point, since England were on the wrong end of it. Whether it be social media, pundits, or fans, the build-up to the final T20I was rife with how England were robbed.

As much as there will be an effort to 'shut out the outside noise', England would have been exposed to the opinions of the cricketing fraternity. The relentless coverage and a wide array of opinions from all corners supported England's case, justifying their 'injustice' stance.

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Conclusion: The poor performance in the fifth T20I cannot entirely be attributed to the incident that transpired in the previous match. This is an international side in question, so a certain level of professionalism can and should be expected, where trivial matters do not dominate the mindspace.

Sometimes a dismal outing is just a dismal outing because of poor cricket played on that particular day, rather than being caused by earlier events.

But, it would not be too far off to suggest that the incident did play on their minds. Largely not because of how they fared on the field, but how their conduct was off it since the controversy transpired.