Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has come out strongly in support of Shubman Gill after England bowling coach Tim Southee accused the Indian captain of showing “double standards” during a heated moment on Day 3 of the third Test at Lord’s.
The incident unfolded late on Saturday when Zak Crawley pulled away twice just as Jasprit Bumrah was about to bowl. Frustrated by what seemed like deliberate time-wasting, Gill lost his cool and was seen in a heated exchange with the England opener. The situation escalated after Crawley injured his fingers defending a Bumrah delivery and called for the physios, further irritating the Indian players.
Following the day’s play, England bowling coach Tim Southee criticised Gill’s reaction by pointing out an earlier moment when the Indian captain himself took a break.
“I’m not sure what they were complaining about when Shubman Gill was lying down getting a massage in the middle of the day yesterday,” Southee said. “It’s an exciting way to finish the day.”
Speaking on Sky Cricket at the start of Day 4, Ravi Shastri backed Gill and fired back at Southee’s comments. “If I were wearing the Indian hat, I would have done all that. We call that tamasha,” Shastri said. “All that is allowed and you want all that. You can’t just have ‘Good morning…good evening’ and go home. A little bit of argy-bargy is okay as long as you don’t cross the line.”
Shastri emphasised that such tense moments are part of the theatre of Test cricket and can be healthy when they remain within sporting limits.
Meanwhile, India managed to equal England’s first-innings total of 387, thanks to KL Rahul’s century and Ravindra Jadeja’s third consecutive half-century. At stumps, England were 2/0 after one over in their second innings, setting the stage for a tight final two days.
For latest sports updates: Follow RevSportz