Kerala off-spinner Jalaj Saxena expressed his frustration on Thursday over what he called an “unfair” decision to replace Gujarat’s concussed leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi with seam-bowling all-rounder Hemang Patel during a crucial moment in the Ranji Trophy semi-final at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Gujarat batted for the all-important first-innings lead after Kerala was bowled out for 457 on Wednesday morning. Later that day, Kerala was informed that Bishnoi would be replaced. The India spinner had suffered a facial injury and a bloodied nose while fielding, forcing him to leave the field earlier.
Saxena, who had already taken two wickets in the morning session, was surprised when Gujarat sent Hemang Patel to bat at No. 5—before their top run-scorer Jaymeet Patel and captain Chintan Gaja.
Since the concussion substitute didn’t seem to follow the ‘like-for-like replacement’ rule, Jalaj Saxena was visibly upset. He was seen arguing with the on-field umpire about Hemang Patel being sent in to bat at No. 5.
Jalaj Saxena expressed his frustration, saying, “Ravi Bishnoi is a bowler who usually bats at No. 9 or 10 for their team. But as a concussion substitute, they brought in a player who is a strong batsman and promoted him to No. 5. I felt that was unfair to us, and that’s what I told the umpire. If they had to replace him with a batsman, at least make him bat at No. 11.”
Gujarat chose to field Hemang Patel over three other bench players—Kshitij Patel, Umang Kumar, and Het Patel—who had better batting records. Although Hemang had the lowest First-Class batting average (19.85) among the four, his selection was technically within the rules. However, Saxena still felt it was unfair to Kerala. Hemang contributed 27 runs off 41 balls, helping Gujarat close the gap to just 29 runs, putting them in a strong position to secure the first-innings lead and a spot in the final.
“He played a crucial knock at an important moment, and it was clear that he wasn’t a proper bowler,” Saxena said. “He was clearly more of a batsman who could bowl occasionally, which didn’t seem like a fair replacement for Bishnoi.”
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