Shubman Gill’s fiery reaction to Zak Crawley’s apparent time-wasting tactics near the close of day three at Lord’s led to an intense on-field moment that drew sharp criticism from former England batter Jonathan Trott. The heated exchange occurred after India matched England’s first-innings total of 387. With around six minutes left on the clock following the innings break, India hoped to deliver two overs before stumps. However, Zak Crawley took a considerable amount of time to prepare for Jasprit Bumrah’s opening delivery. He also walked down the pitch after the second delivery and pulled away twice before the third, taking more time to reset at the crease.
Gill, clearly agitated, stepped in from slip to confront Crawley, prompting Ben Duckett to intervene. Just before the fifth ball, Crawley again walked down the pitch and tapped his bat, leading to further visible frustration from India’s fielders.
When Bumrah delivered the fifth ball, it nipped back and struck Crawley around the fingers. Crawley immediately called for the physio. India’s close-in fielders reacted sarcastically, clapping as the physio ran out, and Gill sprinted to the striker’s end. He pointed at Crawley and shouted, “Grow some f***ing balls.” Duckett stepped between them to de-escalate the situation, but the verbal exchange continued until stumps were called. Only one over was bowled before the umpires ended play.
Jonathan Trott, now the head coach of Afghanistan, expressed his displeasure with Gill’s conduct while speaking on JioHotstar.
“We don’t know what went on when England were fielding, whether they were dishing it out. But I don’t like the acting from Shubman Gill. As a captain, you set the tone,” Trott remarked.
He further compared Gill’s actions to those of a previous Indian captain.
“Pointing fingers and getting very confrontational, very much like a previous captain before getting in the face of the opposition. I am all for being competitive and being tough on the field, but sometimes you have to rise above it. It sets up nicely for tomorrow’s play,” he added.
Former India captain and head coach Anil Kumble also weighed in on the incident, suggesting that England were clearly trying to avoid facing even a single over before stumps.
“At the end of 2 and a half Tests, exactly halfway through the series, there’s nothing much to differentiate. And yes, you know, from an English point of view, they wanted to just face one over. Probably they didn’t want to face a single over, but they ended up, because even Jofra Archer, when he got that wicket, was disappointed that he got a wicket. So, yes, in that sense, it’d be great to watch over the next two days,” Kumble said.