Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar slammed Ben Stokes antics towards the end of the IND vs ENG 4th Test at Old Trafford. On the final day of the Test, shortly before Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja reached their hundreds, the England captain offered to end the game with a handshake. However, both batters decided to decline the offer and batted on until they reached their centuries. An unhappy Stokes and his teammates were seen throwing tantrums at the Indian batters after being turned down.

Sachin’s two cents on handshake row in IND vs ENG 4th Test

In a video posted on Reddit, Sachin questioned why Jadeja and Sundar wanting to continue batting to score their hundreds was not in the right spirit. He heaped praise on the duo for tackling England efficiently when they were trying hard to get rid of them. Tendulkar said that there was no need for Jadeja and Sundar to accept England’s handshake offer as the series was alive and that there was no need to give rest to England’s bowlers and fielders.

“The series was alive, so why should they go ahead and give rest to England bowlers and fielders? If England wanted to hand the ball to Harry Brook, it was Ben Stokes’ choice. It wasn’t India’s problem. To me, it was fine. They were playing for a draw, not their hundreds. If they had gotten out when they came to bat, we could’ve lost. When they came out to bat, Harry Brook wasn’t bowling, was he? So, why should England’s bowlers be fresh for the 5th Test? Do you have an answer for that? No!” said Tendulkar.

Both Jadeja and Sundar were in their 80s, and were closing in on their tons. The visitors were well within their rights to decline the offer, but that didn’t go well with Stokes. In fact, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Stokes couldn’t swallow the bitter pill, and together had a go at Jadeja.