"Bring Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff, who stopped you?" - Indian legend's scathing attack on declaration controversy in ENG vs IND 2025 4th Test

Indian spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin took a brutal dig at England after India pulled off a draw at Old Trafford, Manchester, in the recently concluded fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He slammed the English skipper Ben Stokes' offer to call off the Test when Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar were batting on 89* and 80, respectively.

Ashwin minced no words while bashing Stokes' antics. He also lashed out at England batter Zak Crawley for having a go at the two Indian batters amid the declaration drama.

The former India cricketer sarcastically suggested that England should have bowled underarm. It is worth noting that the stump microphone captured Stokes asking Jadeja if he wanted to complete a century against part-time bowler Harry Brook.

Ashwin criticized the England captain and remarked that nobody was stopping the team from bowling former players like Steve Harmison or Andrew Flintoff. Speaking on his YouTube channel, 'Ash ki Baat', he said (from 24:28):

"I want to ask Zak Crawley one thing: what is your role there? I am actually disappointed. Those guys should have bowled underarm, like Trevor Chappell. Please don't talk about the spirit of cricket or sportsmanship. What are these standards? This is just foolhardiness; this is ridiculous. "Boss, since morning, they played Archer, your Matthew Hoggard, your Darren Gough, Andrew Flintoff, whatever bowlers who bowled, they played them and took the match towards a draw. They worked very hard to reach there, and they should leave their centuries? "What was your question? You want to make a hundred against Harry Brook? No, he wants to score a hundred. Please go and bring Steve Harmison or Andrew Flintoff, who stopped you? It is your fault that you are bowling Harry Brook," he added (at 25:51).

Jadeja (107* off 185 balls) and Sundar (101* off 206 balls) refused Stokes' handshake and eventually completed their respective hundreds. The two formed an unbeaten 203-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

India finished 425/4, salvaging a draw. Skipper Shubman Gill played a stunning 103-run knock from 238 balls, while opener KL Rahul narrowly missed out on a ton, scoring 90 runs in 230 deliveries.

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"You would have been the poster boy of the spirit of cricket" - Ravichandran Ashwin's scathing attack on Ben Stokes after ENG vs IND 2025 4th Test

Ravichandran Ashwin remarked that if he were the Indian captain, he would have asked his batters to play till the end of the day's play. He slammed Ben Stokes by giving the spirit of the game example.

The 38-year-old said in the same video (from 27:36):

"I would have stood and played those 15 overs if I were the captain. As a captain of an international team, who fully understands the spirit of cricket and is the brand ambassador of it, you should have bowled 15 overs with Harry Brook. It would have been a great advertisement for the spirit of cricket. You would have been the poster boy of spirit of cricket."

Ashwin also asked Stokes and Crawley if they would have agreed to call off the Test had they been nearing their respective centuries in a similar situation.

"Zak Crawley was saying into the mic, 'Is this how you want to get a hundred? You should have batted faster to get a hundred'. Brother, it is his choice when he wants to get to his hundred. If you want to score quickly, then score your 70 and get out; that's your game. If Stokes and Crawley were batting, would they have left their hundreds for the spirit of the game," he added (at 28:23).

Meanwhile, England currently lead the series 2-1. The fifth and final Test is set to be played from July 31 to August 4 at Kennington Oval, London.

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Edited by Aditya Suketu Desai