Top 5 experts who slammed Ben Stokes' reaction to India not calling an early draw in ENG vs IND 2025 4th Test ft. Sanjay Manjrekar

The fourth Test between India and England at Manchester ended with controversy after the visitors produced a stunning rearguard action with the bat. Having to bat out nearly two days for a draw, Shubman Gill's side recovered from 0/2 to finish on 425/4.

Yet, five overs before the two teams finally decided to shake hands and accept a draw, England captain Ben Stokes made a similar offer to the two Indian batters, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. The former was on 89, while the latter was 80, having saved their side from the blushes with almost four hours of resolute batting.

The duo declined Stokes' request to continue batting in an attempt to complete their respective well-deserved centuries. It led to the English players going after Jadeja and throwing the ball to part-timer Harry Brook to bowl.

Unperturbed by the incident, the batting pair completed their respective centuries in style before accepting the drawn result. The heated discussions between the players continued even after the contest was complete as they walked off the field.

Several former players slammed Ben Stokes for his agitated reaction to the Indian duo not accepting his offer to walk off and continuing to bat for their milestones.

Here are the top five expert reactions:

#1 Sanjay Manjrekar

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar called Ben Stokes 'a spoiled kid' for his actions at the end of the hard-fought Manchester encounter. After having India two down in the first over, the England skipper expressed frustration at his side picking up only two more wickets in the next 142 overs.

Talking about Stokes' reaction at the end of the game, Manjrekar told JioHotstar (via Indian Express):

"Okay fine, he’s unhappy that the players haven’t walked off, he’ll have to manage his overs carefully with the main bowlers already exhausted from bowling long spells the whole day. But throwing lollipops in the air and showing a bit of grumpiness out there, that was Ben Stokes behaving like a spoiled kid." "I can understand him being surprised that India wanted to continue… but everything won’t go as per your wishes, he should’ve handled that better. It was Ben, the hero, the champion that I admire, on that occasion behaving like a spoiled kid," he added.

Following the ugly incident, Harry Brook and Joe Root bowled the next five overs before the two teams accepted the drawn result.

#2 Aakash Chopra

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra blasted Ben Stokes for trying to overpower the two batters to accept his request. Jadeja was only 11 runs shy of his fifth Test century and his first of the ongoing series.

"Should we start with Ben Stokes' drama? I am calling it a drama because it was wrong. What power were you trying to show off? You were showing a holier-than-thou attitude for what? What spirit of the game were you talking about? In the mandatory overs, in the 15 overs of play in the last one hour, you go out when both teams decide," said Chopra on his YouTube channel (via Sportskeeda).

Soon after Jadeja completed his ton, Sundar did the same to register his maiden Test century.

#3 Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar slammed Ben Stokes and the English side for their overreaction to Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar declining their request. The laws of the game suggest that play can be called off on the final day only when both sides agree to shake hands and walk off.

"They seemed to forget that two teams are playing out there, and if one decides to continue, the other simply has to accept it. They made sarcastic remarks about the batters, who were in their 80s, getting to their centuries off the bowling of a batter. What they overlooked was the hard work and resilience the batters had shown against frontline bowlers for over four hours to reach the 80s," wrote Gavaskar in his column for Sportstar.

The controversy marred a thrilling five days that saw both teams go tooth and nail for a fourth consecutive Test.

#4 Nasser Hussain

Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes Ben Stokes' move to bowl Harry Brook to finish off the game was a silly move. A few of the England players were chirping to Jadeja about scoring a century against a part-timer like Brook to put the Indian all-rounder off.

"Stokes didn’t have to bowl Harry Brook and it looked a bit silly but we make too much of these things. India deserved the draw and Washington and Jadeja deserved to be there at the end. I didn’t have a problem with it. England did. They had tired bowlers and tired legs and wanted to get off but the two lads had worked hard to get into the 80s and 90s and wanted hundreds," said Hussain on Sky Sports (via Indian Express).

Jadeja and Sundar's heroic centuries helped India stay alive in the series, trailing 1-2 with the final Test to be played at the Oval.

#5 Michael Vaughan

Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes that if the shoe were on the other foot, Ben Stokes' side would have done the same thing the two Indian batters did at the end of the Manchester outing. It was only the second draw since Stokes took over as England captain in mid-2022, adding to his frustrations.

"If we had a young player on 85, no way would we have come off. We'd have said, 'Get your hundred, then we'll shake hands. ' That's just the truth," said Vaughan on Cricbuzz (via TOI).

The climax to the fourth Test adds much spice to the series finale at the Oval, starting in three days on July 31.

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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran