Sunil Gavaskar, the legendary Indian cricketer, strongly criticized Ben Stokes and the England team over the recent handshake controversy involving Ravindra Jadeja. During the final day of the 4th Test at Manchester, India had batted for over five sessions, removing any chance for an England victory.
Stokes tried to end the match by asking Jadeja to shake hands, suggesting a draw, but Jadeja refused. This upset Stokes and others, leading to sarcastic remarks. Stokes even mocked Jadeja and Washington Sundar, questioning whether they planned to reach their centuries against part-time bowlers like Harry Brook and Joe Root.
Gavaskar Recalls Edgbaston Test to Expose England’s Past Claims
In his Sportstar column, Gavaskar recalled England’s earlier claims and mocked their inability to follow through. He said, “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.”
He highlighted how England once bragged, especially after high-scoring games in Pakistan, that they could chase even 600 runs. However, when India did set them such a target in Birmingham, England lost by a huge margin of 336 runs and didn’t even reach 300. Gavaskar added, “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.”
Support for Indian Batters and Criticism of English Reactions
Sunil Gavaskar also responded to England’s mockery of Indian batters who were in their 80s and nearing centuries. He strongly defended their decision to keep batting, pointing out the hard work involved. “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.”
He insisted that if England really wanted to stop them, they should have used regular bowlers. “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.” Gavaskar even stated that if he were the captain, he would have let them continue to bat and exhaust the English fielders further.
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