Bengal’s Kazi Junaid Saifi becomes second serious injury replacement as BCCI’s new rule extends to white-ball cricket

Bengal opener Sudip Chatterjee on Monday, October 27, became the second-ever beneficiary of the BCCI’s new ‘Serious Injury Replacement’ rule. Kazi Junaid Saifi was deputised at No. 3 on the third day of Bengal’s Group C clash against Gujarat in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy.

Chatterjee injured his left leg while fielding on Day 2 and was immediately taken for scans. The report declared a PCL (Posterior Cruciate Ligament) tear, due to which he is struggling to bend his left leg with significant pain behind his knee. Kazi, who made his Bengal comeback on the back of a stellar season in club cricket, managed only 1 off 11 balls.

After the ICC’s concussion substitute rule in 2019, the Indian cricket board decided to trial like-for-like changes for players who suffered serious injuries (deep cut, dislocation, fracture, etc.) in matches during the 2025-26 domestic season. While the final call is reserved for the on-field umpires, they may consult the match referee or the team doctor. The replacement player should be from among those nominated at the toss.

However, after initially restricting the rule to only multi-day matches – essentially red-ball cricket – it has been extended to the limited-overs formats too. This paves the way for freak injuries to be taken care of in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy as well.

“It came into effect in the Duleep Trophy. And it will be applicable across formats – both red ball and white ball,” match referee Sanjay Verma told Sportskeeda.

BCCI updated its playing conditions ahead of the season-opening tournament. Maharashtra’s Saurabh Nawale became the first-ever serious injury replacement when he came on for Saurashtra keeper-batter Harvik Desai in the second innings of the West Zone vs Central Zone semifinal.

Meanwhile, sources confirmed to Sportskeeda that Sudip Chatterjee will be sidelined for three weeks. That means he is likely to miss all the remaining matches in the first phase of the Ranji Trophy. The 33-year-old, however, won’t travel to CoE, instead undergo rehabilitation under the supervision of the Bengal team doctor.

The development comes as a massive blow to Bengal, who will also miss the services of captain Abhimanyu Easwaran and star bowler Akash Deep. The duo has been picked in the India A squad for the second unofficial Test against South Africa A and will thus be unavailable for the next two clashes against Tripura and Railways.

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Bengal eye 6 points versus Gujarat on final day

Shahbaz Ahamad’s six-wicket haul, followed by the resistance shown by Anustup Majumdar, put Bengal on course for another six points. The 282-run lead should already be out of Gujarat’s reach on a deteriorating pitch. They could, however, be saved by the weather, with Kolkata expected to be impacted by Cyclone Montha.

The visitors were bowled out for a paltry 167 in response to Bengal’s 279, thanks to Shahbaz’s six for 34 on his return from a right shoulder injury. Captain Manan Hingrajia ploughed a lonely furrow with an unbeaten 80 off 252 deliveries.

With the ball keeping low since the first day, the bounce became even more uneven when the hosts came out to bat a second time. In Sudip Chatterjee’s absence, Sudip Gharami opened the batting and stroked his way to a 93-ball 54. But seamer Arzan Nagwaswalla (2 for 58) and left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai (4 for 48) ensured the game didn't get too far away from them. Majumdar (44* off 81) and Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (7* off 21) will resume tomorrow and steer the lead towards 320.

The pitch has enough cracks and holes, and Bengal are set to unleash their part-time spinners alongside Shahbaz and the four-man pace attack.

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Edited by Srinjoy Sanyal