Sunil Gavaskar lashed out at Ben Stokes and Co. for their Handshake act? Reason is…

India and England’s fourth Test was not without controversy. England captain Ben Stokes proposed a draw in the Manchester match with 15 overs remaining. In spite of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar both reaching their eighties, India declined. The visitors decided to stop the game after both batters had reached their centuries. The England team chose not to acknowledge Jadeja and Sundar’s milestone achievements, having no interest in bowling the final overs.

“A majority of the England players not to be clapping when their hundreds were achieved doesn’t really reflect well because they have to acknowledge the 80 plus that both of them scored. I know in modern day cricket, those kind of things are looked down upon as not being manly enough or not being mature enough to acknowledge another sportsperson’s superiority. I can understand if Ben Stokes or Joe Root were little sarcastic about it but none of the others in this England team have scored enough hundreds to be sarcastic about the other batters looking to get their hundreds,” said Gavaskar on Sony Sports.

Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar turned down Ben Stokes’ offer of an early draw on the final day of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test, instead choosing to bat the whole hour.

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Both captains have the option of agreeing to end the match as a draw if no outcome seems likely. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, however, rejected Ben Stokes’ handshake offer after consulting the umpire, which clearly left the England captain frustrated after putting in a determined effort to secure the draw.

After saving India from a 311-run deficit in the second innings, both Jadeja and Washington have decided to continue to bat because they are close to hitting centuries. Their decision has been supported by both the head coach, Gautam Gambhir, and the captain, Shubman Gill, who work closely together.

( With PTI Inputs )