Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has once again voiced strong criticism against the England team, this time for their conduct during the final day of the Manchester Test. The match ended in a draw, but tensions flared when Indian batters Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar opted not to accept Ben Stokes’ proposal to settle for a draw with 15 overs remaining. Both batters were approaching personal milestones and were determined to score centuries, a decision that reportedly irritated the England side.
In response, England captain Ben Stokes brought in part-time bowlers Harry Brook and Joe Root. As Jadeja and Sundar continued to bat, reaching their hundreds against these occasional bowlers, sarcastic remarks followed from the England camp. The incident triggered a strong reaction from Gavaskar, who labeled England’s actions as hypocritical and lacking sportsmanship.
Referencing an earlier match in the series, Gavaskar recalled England’s comments after their defeat in the second Test at Edgbaston, which India won by a massive margin of 336 runs. He wrote in his Sportstar column, “At one of the media conferences after the defeat in the second Test in Birmingham, some England players, trying to be funny, asked why India set them a target of over 600. They even went so far as to say that India were scared they’d chase anything above 450. The fact is, when they were on a high from scoring piles of runs on flat tracks and fast outfields in Pakistan, they even boasted ahead of the India tour last year that they could chase down 600. Well, talk is cheap, and when given the chance to put their money where their mouth is by chasing over 600 in Birmingham, they ended up losing by 336 runs. Yes, they didn’t even get to 300 while boasting of chasing over 600.”
Gavaskar also took issue with the sarcastic commentary directed at Jadeja and Sundar, who were both in the 80s at the time. He emphasized that their centuries were hard-earned, having faced quality bowling for several hours. “They made sarcastic remarks about the batters, who were in their 80s, getting to their centuries off the bowling of a batter. What they overlooked was the hard work and resilience the batters had shown against frontline bowlers for over four hours to reach the 80s. If they wanted a hundred for their efforts, England should have denied them with proper bowlers rather than whining about them getting there against Harry Brook. A Test century isn’t easy and doesn’t come every match, so the batters were fully entitled to bat on and reach their personal landmarks which they eventually did. If I were the captain, I’d have told them to keep batting and play out the remaining overs, tiring out the fielders even more especially after the shenanigans by the English players once their offer was declined,” he added.
The series now heads into the fifth and final Test at The Oval starting July 31. England leads the series 2-1 and needs only a draw to clinch the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. India, though unable to win the series, can still square it by winning the final match.