Miffed Sunil Gavaskar Wants Shubman Gill To Ask Ben Stokes: "Why Did You Take..."

The manner in which the India vs England 4th Test concluded, triggered an intense debate on social media. England captain Ben Stokes offered India the opportunity to take the draw and conde the match while Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar were still chasing their respective hundreds. With the fate of the match settled, Stokes didn't find logic in continuing the game but India had other targets to achieve.

Though the match eventually concluded with Jadeja and Sundar reaching their respective hundreds, Stokes' antics towards the end drew opinions from all across the cricketing spectrum.

Looking at the manner in which India managed to salvage a draw, the legendary Sunil Gavaskar said that he was enormously proud of what the Indian team managed to do in Manchester. But, he also questioned England's approach as they didn't declare the innings, even after going past the 600-run mark.

"Satisfied? I am proud. 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," the Little Master said on the Sony Sports Network.

Sunil Gavaskar calls out England's "loud talk" #SonySportsNetwork #ENGvIND #NayaIndia #DhaakadIndia #TeamIndia #ExtraaaInnings pic.twitter.com/b06op1KAUY

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) July 29, 2025

Gavaskar sent a loud message to India captain Shubman Gill, telling him to ask Ben Stokes why a decision to declare early wasn't taken by him?

"Shubman Gill... if he is at the media conference... I would like him to ask, 'Why did you take a lead of 311? Why were you not happy with a lead of 240? Or 250? After you [Ben Stokes] got his hundred, why did you not declare and give your bowlers a little extra hour to try and get other wickets? I know he won't ask. He is too nice a guy. He is not this SG. That SG is different. But this SG would have 100 percent asked. And I am asking now," he added.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team England Cricket Team Ben Stokes Sunil Gavaskar Shubman Gill England vs India, 2025 Cricket