‘Double Standards’: Ashwin Calls Out England’s Mixed Signals on Spirit of the Game

‘Double Standards’: Ashwin Calls Out England’s Mixed Signals on Spirit of the Game
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The final day of the Manchester Test took a dramatic turn—not because of the result, but due to England captain Ben Stokes’ visible frustration over India’s decision to continue batting. With an hour left and no result likely, Indian batters Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar refused to accept a draw, choosing instead to chase their personal milestones. This sparked a tense exchange with Stokes, who was caught on the stump mic asking Jadeja, "You want to get a Test hundred against Harry Brook?"

Instead of using his strike bowlers, Stokes turned to part-timers Joe Root and Harry Brook in the final hour, ostensibly to protect his key pacers from fatigue and injury. But former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin wasn’t buying the explanation—and launched a blistering takedown of England's captain on his YouTube channel Ash Ki Baat.

"I am actually disappointed. He (Ben Stokes) should have asked his bowlers to bowl underarm like Trevor Chappell. That would’ve been more in line with his logic. Please don’t talk about the spirit of cricket and sportsmanship. This is ridiculous," Ashwin said.

“You Can’t Win? So Nobody Should Be Happy?”

Ashwin accused Stokes of hypocrisy, saying his offer of a draw had more to do with frustration than fairness.

“So one captain wants to end the game. Why? Because he doesn’t want to tire his bowlers—and more importantly, because he’s frustrated. And he thinks the opponents shouldn’t be happy either. That second point is not in the rule book,” Ashwin mocked.

As Jadeja (89*) and Sundar (80*) continued to bat solidly, both players reached their centuries—Jadeja registering his fifth Test hundred and Sundar notching his maiden ton—before the match ended in a draw after five overs into the final hour.

“Double Standards Defined in 10 Minutes”

Ashwin didn’t hold back, directly calling out England’s hypocrisy.

“Double standards. That’s what they showed in the last 10 minutes. You’re frustrated you can’t win, so you punch the ball, argue with players, and refuse handshakes. And then you ask, ‘Do you want a century against Harry Brook?’ That’s your mistake, not ours. Bring Flintoff or Harmison—nobody would mind scoring against them either.”

Adding to the controversy, England’s Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett reportedly joined in with sledging. Crawley was overheard saying, “F**ing hell Washi, get on with it,”* while Jofra Archer added, “If you wanted a hundred, you should have batted like it earlier.”

“This Was an Indian Win”

Ashwin sarcastically concluded by saying that despite the official result being a draw, the moral victory belonged to India.

“Zak Crawley said, ‘If you wanted 100, bat quicker.’ That’s his style. You want 70 fast or 100 patiently—that’s the player’s call. If Crawley or Stokes were batting, would they give up their hundreds for some abstract idea of the ‘spirit of the game’? Let’s be real. That’s why I say, this wasn’t a draw. This was an Indian win.”

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir also defended the team’s stance, emphasizing that they were well within their rights to continue batting.

Herald Goa
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