India Head Coach Gautam Gambhir Defends Decision To Refuse Stokes’ Offer

Gautam Gambhir, India’s caput coach, offered a strident defence of his broadside arsenic Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar – overmuch to England’s annoyance – deed hundreds of years successful a bizarre decorativeness to nan drawn 4th Test astatine Old Trafford.

After Jadeja and Sundar batted resolutely to norm retired an English win, Ben Stokes offered to shingle hands pinch 15 overs remaining connected time five. But pinch some batters approaching 3 figures – Sundar connected 80, Jadeja connected 89 – India continued to bat until some reached 3 figures. Stokes, wishing to remainder his frontline bowlers, brought connected Harry Brook, who dished up immoderate adjuvant offerings to nan brace of southpaws. He conceded 24 disconnected 3 overs, nan title concluding pinch Sundar reaching his maiden Test century.

“You clasp your hands up, they played incredibly well,” Stokes said. “But I don’t deliberation location would person been excessively overmuch much restitution from stepping disconnected 100 not out, getting your squad retired of a tricky situation, than stepping disconnected astatine 80, 90 not out. That’s what you’ve done for your team.

“Ten much runs aliases immoderate it was ain’t going to alteration nan truth that you’ve managed to get your squad retired of a very tricky business and almost saved your squad from a bid conclusion earlier nan past game.

“We took nan crippled arsenic acold arsenic we could pinch our frontline bowlers. As soon arsenic it sewage to that constituent wherever nan tie was inevitable, I was ne'er going to consequence my frontline bowlers pinch nan short turnaround that we person and nan workload that we’ve sewage done this week and passim this bid arsenic well.

“I did person to show [Brook]: ‘Don’t do thing stupid.’ We’ve spent a batch of clip retired successful nan field, can’t person you pulling a broadside aliases doing thing different.”

Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja connected their measurement to hundreds of years astatine Old Trafford. Photograph: Barry Mitchell/Shutterstock

Gambhir thought otherwise of nan situation. “If personification is batting connected 90 and nan different 1 is batting connected 85, don’t they merit a hundred? Would they person walked off? If personification from nan England broadside would person been batting connected 90 aliases 85, if personification had nan opportunity to get his first Test hundred, wouldn’t you let him to do it, if they weathered nan storm? It’s up to them. If they want to play that way, that’s up to them. I’ve sewage thing much to say.”

Stokes endured a important workload during nan Test. While he celebrated hitting a period and taking a five-wicket haul, nan all-rounder grimaced done his spell connected nan 5th morning. Asked really he was feeling, he replied: “Mentally, decent. Physically, been better.

“It’s been a beautiful large workload truthful acold successful nan series. Another large past week astatine Lord’s, nan clip I spent retired successful nan mediate pinch bat successful manus and overs bowled. And past aforesaid again this week. I said a fewer times to nan guys retired there: ‘Pain is conscionable an emotion.’ It’s conscionable 1 of those things.”

Stokes did not connection complete certainty complete whether he will play nan last Test astatine nan Oval, which originates connected Thursday, though – done a confusing usage of words – suggested he will beryllium coming arsenic England purpose to unafraid a bid victory.

“You look astatine really agelong we’ve been retired successful nan section and nan overs that we bowled arsenic a bowling unit, everyone’s going to beryllium beautiful sore and beautiful tired going into nan past crippled of nan series,” Stokes said. “I deliberation location will beryllium an appraisal of everyone and hopefully we tin usage these adjacent 2 to 3 days’ remainder wisely and past person to make a decision.

“These betterment days are going to beryllium beautiful important and we mightiness person to make a fewer decisions to get immoderate caller legs in. But that won’t beryllium decided until we get person to nan past game. I don’t want to eat my words, but nan likelihood that I won’t play is very unlikely.”