'It's not his fault that he was the one who ended up being the concussion substitute' - Kevin Pietersen extends support to Harshit Rana

A massive controversy has been stirred in the cricket fraternity after match referee Javagal Srinath allowed Harshit Rana to come in as the concussion substitute, replacing Shivam Dube in the fourth T20I between India and England at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Friday, January 31.

Dube scored a magnificent half-century on his comeback to international cricket and helped India recover from a tricky situation. However, the southpaw was hit on his helmet on the penultimate delivery of the Indian innings by Jamie Overton. Dube couldn't come out to field in the second innings and was subsequently replaced by Rana. The Delhi speedster bagged three wickets, helping India win the match by 15 runs to clinch the series.

Several experts questioned the decision to allow a frontline pacer like Rana to play in place of Dube, who is a batting all-rounder. However, Kevin Pietersen came to the aid of the 23-year-old, who became the first Indian to make his debut as a concussion substitute in any format. The former England cricketer praised Rana for assessing the conditions quickly and said that it was not his fault that he was picked as the concussion substitute.

"No, Harshit's performance was great. I thought that he delivered his skill excellently. I thought that he was brilliant in the way that he assessed a couple of the batters. The way that he assessed the conditions where he went out wide and on a couple of occasions. He was brilliant. And for his cricket, he was outstanding, and it's not his fault that he was the one who ended up being the concussion substitute. He went there and he bowled his heart and he bowled to a victory," Pietersen said while speaking on Star Sports after the Pune T20I.

Also Read: 'It's not a like-for-like replacement, we don't agree with that' - Jos Buttler on Harshit Rana playing as concussion substitute

India took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series with the win on Friday. The fifth T20I is going to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, February 2.