Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif strongly criticised Ben Stokes for his behaviour during the final day of the Manchester Test, saying the England captain lost respect after his heated exchange with Ravindra Jadeja.
The incident took place when Jadeja and Washington Sundar were nearing centuries and had firmly denied England a win. Stokes walked up to Jadeja and suggested shaking hands for a draw, but Jadeja declined and chose to keep batting. The conversation turned tense, and England’s players began engaging in constant chatter in an attempt to break India’s focus.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Despite their efforts, India stood firm. At stumps, India was 425 for 4 in the second innings, leading by 114 runs. Jadeja remained unbeaten on 107, Sundar on 101, and Shubman Gill had earlier scored 103. The partnership between Jadeja and Sundar was worth 203 runs and had taken the game away from England.
Kaif said that rather than trying harder to take wickets, England appeared to ease off. He called out Stokes for trying to stop the game when things were not going his way.
“Ben Stokes lost respect because of that one moment when he wanted to end the game early,” Kaif said in a video on Instagram. “You had almost two days to bowl India out. You could not win. What were you trying to achieve by asking for a handshake?”
Kaif praised Stokes’ all-round performance but said all the good work was undone by his behaviour. “It takes years to build respect and just one moment to lose it. This was that moment for Ben Stokes,” he said.
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