Sunil Gavaskar Takes Dig At Grumpy England For Manchester Farce: 'Those Days Are Gone'
England have been criticised for their shenanigans towards the end of the 4th Test after India refused the offer to end the Test prematurely.
Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has called out England for their 'grumpiness' after India turned down their offer to end the fifth day of the 4th Test play prematurely with the game heading towards a draw. Gavaskar reminded England that they cannot expect things to go their way all the time and complaint when they don't.
'Everything cannot be done according to what the England team wants. This is yet another example of that old syndrome: when we do it, it's right; when the opposition does the same, it's wrong. Those days are long gone, and no one, least of all the Indian team, is going to simply accept it," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
Why Was Stokes Unhappy?
India batters Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar refused to end the game early and batted on to complete their centuries. England captain Ben Stokes was annoyed that the pair should have accepted their offer since they had already done the job of saving the Test.
Gavaskar says if England didn't want Jadeja and Sundar to score centuries, they should have deployed 'proper bowlers' and not turn to part-timers to vent their frustrations.
'Towards the end of the Test, a few grumpy English players were unhappy that the batters at the crease…declined the offer to end the day's play…," Gavaskar wrote.
'The England players felt that, since there was no chance of a result, the Indians should have accepted the offer to conclude proceedings. They seemed to forget that two teams are playing out there, and if one decides to continue, the other simply has to accept it.
'What they overlooked was the hard work and resilience the batters had shown against frontline bowlers for over four hours to reach the 80s. 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," he added.
England's Shenanigans
Gavaskar said if he were the India captain in Manchester, he would've asked his batters to continue batting till the end of the day's play in response to England's shenanigans.
'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 wrote.
'The natural light was deteriorating, and the floodlights were on. Had Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse been given the ball, the umpires might have intervened and stopped play – so perhaps England missed a trick there," he added.
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First Published:
July 29, 2025, 09:31 IST
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