Saifuddin had to be replaced after being hit on the helmet by a Dushmantha Chameera bouncer
Mohammad Saifuddin, the Bangladesh allrounder, has been ruled out of the second ODI against Sri Lanka, being played on Tuesday in Mirpur, after suffering concussion when he was hit on his helmet by a delivery from Dushmantha Chameera. Taskin Ahmed has since replaced Saifuddin as a like-for-like concussion substitute for the rest of the game, the first time a team has been forced to make use of the rule in a men’s ODI.
The incident took place in the 47th over of Bangladesh’s innings. The short ball from Chameera pinged Saifuddin on the helmet as he missed with an attempted hook. Saifuddin ended up running himself out that same ball as he and Mushfiqur Rahim, who led Bangladesh’s batting effort with a 127-ball 125, tried to steal a single, but Kusal Mendis caught Saifuddin short with a direct hit. Saifuddin walked off with the Bangladesh team physio by his side.
His replacement, Ahmed, did play the first match of the series, which Bangladesh won by 33 runs, but proved ineffective – he conceded 62 runs off nine wicketless overs, the economy rate of 6.88 the poorest among the six Bangladesh bowlers to be in action on the day.
Ahmed – and Saifuddin – however, entered the record books as the first instance of a concussion sub in a men’s 50-over international game. It has happened once in a women’s ODI, when Shabika Gajnabi replaced Chinelle Henry for West Indies against India in North Sound on November 1, 2019.
There have, however, been seven instances of concussion subs being used in men’s Tests: Marnus Labuschagne for Steven Smith against England in 2019, Jermaine Blackwood for Darren Bravo against India in 2019, Theunis de Bruyn for Dean Elgar against India in 2019, Mehidy Hasan for Liton Das and Taijul Islam for Nayeem Hasan for Bangladesh against India in 2019, and Brian Mudzinganyama for Kevin Kasuza against Sri Lanka and Timycen Maruma for Kevin Kasuza for Zimbabwe against Sri Lanka last year.
The two instances in men’s T20Is were when Qalandar Khan stepped in for Saqlain Arshad for Qatar against Jersey in 2019, and the time Yuzvendra Chahal replaced Ravindra Jadeja against Australia in 2020.
Saifuddin, meanwhile, played a useful hand in the win in the first ODI, first hitting two fours in a nine-ball 13* from No. 8 as Bangladesh scored 257 for 6, and then picking up the wickets of Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga on his way to returns of 2 for 49 as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 224.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84