MANCHESTER– India captain Shubman Gill addressed the controversy involving England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett at the end of Day 3 of the ongoing Test match, stating that their deliberate time-wasting tactics were not in the spirit of the game.
After India matched England’s first-innings total of 387, they hoped to squeeze in two overs before stumps. However, those plans were derailed as Crawley delayed the start by pulling out twice during Jasprit Bumrah’s run-up and calling for medical attention for a hand injury, resulting in a heated exchange between Gill and the England openers.
“Let me clear the air. We had seven minutes of play left. The English batters were 90 seconds late to the crease—not 10 or 20, but 90. Yes, we would have also preferred to bat less in a similar situation, but there’s a way to go about it. I feel what happened was not in the spirit of the game,” Gill said at the pre-match press conference. “It’s not something I’m proud of. We had no intention of escalating it, but there was a build-up to the moment.”
Gill also confirmed that Rishabh Pant will resume wicketkeeping duties in the fourth Test after being briefly replaced by Dhruv Jurel due to an injury at Lord’s.
With India trailing the series 1–2, questions are being raised about Karun Nair’s place in the side. In his first Test series since 2017, the right-handed batter has scored just 131 runs in six innings, with a top score of 40. With Sai Sudharsan and Abhimanyu Easwaran waiting in the wings, Gill expressed faith in Nair’s ability to bounce back.
“We’ve had conversations and we believe Karun is batting well. He didn’t play in his usual position in the first game. It’s tough to return in a high-stakes series like this. But once he gets going—scores a 50—he can build from there. We’re hopeful he’ll turn it around,” Gill said. (Source: IANS)
