'Why Declare Late?': Sunil Gavaskar's Question Ben Stokes After Manchester Draw
Sunil Gavaskar slammed England skipper Ben Stokes in the handshake controversy that erupted out of the dramatic final moments in the Old Trafford Test on Sunday, July 27. The legendary Indian batter questioned Stokes' entitlement for feeling miffed at being refused the handshake offered to India's spin allrounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar to conclude an early draw in Manchester.
Having worked extremely hard for their defiant pair of knocks on a deteriorating surface on Day 5, Jadeja and Washington were on 89 and 80 not out when they denied Stokes' handshake, as he accepted fate for his team and sought an end to the proceedings at the start of the final hour of play. Stokes wore a look of bemusement before he and the rest of the English players exchanged words in anger with Jadeja and Washington, who stood their ground firmly.
Even as Stokes expressed his frustration by introducing part-timer Harry Brook and Joe Root for the final few overs, Jadeja and Washington only walked off after having recorded and celebrated their much-deserved hundreds. The England skipper's attitude didn't at all please Gavaskar, who had an interesting request for Indian captain Shubman Gill about the incident.
The Little Master also praised the Indian team for standing up to the task and keeping the series alive by batting for five sessions, with knocks of great substance also coming off the bat of opener KL Rahul (90) and captain Gill (103).
'Satisfied? I am proud," Gavaskar said when asked for his immediate reaction to India's courageous display. 'I am enormously proud of this team for what they have done. I mean, just four wickets [fell]. Whatever the pitch might have been – good pitch, flat pitch – whatever it is, they stuck around there under pressure."
'The question can be asked: Did England bat too long before they declared? When India gave England 600-plus runs to chase at Birmingham, some of the England players who came out for the press conference said, 'India were scared, and that's why they gave us 600 runs.' But I also remember reading somewhere earlier on when England were in India 'Give us 600 runs. We will chase anything.' That's what India did, but you ended up 336 runs short. So that is just bravado, a little bit of loud talk."
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