Ben Stokes shares his thoughts about the handshake Controversy

Ben Stokes shares his thoughts about the handshake Controversy Tezzbuzz | 01/08/2025 08:24:42

England’s captain, Ben Stokes, stood by his actions in the handshake incident in Manchester, saying he doesn’t regret what happened. On the last day of the fourth Test, when a win was impossible, Stokes offered to end the game to Indian batsmen Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. They kept playing as they got close to their centuries.

Stokes seemed annoyed by their choice, and it’s said England made some negative comments to the batsmen. Stokes used Harry Brook to bowl the remaining overs to allow the Indian players reach their hundreds. He stated he wasn’t going to use his best bowlers when there was no chance of winning. This caused a debate, splitting the cricket world.

Reflecting on the matter, Stokes repeated that he wouldn’t have made his key bowlers play with no chance of winning. Stokes stated he has no regrets regarding the handshake incident, adding that the England team is done with it and he thinks India likely has moved on too.

“I don’t have regrets, but it is one of those when you have not been in the field for 250 overs, you do have a bit more of an understanding towards both sides,” Stokes said.

“Two lads in Jadeja and Washington played incredibly well up until that point, so you sort of understand as to why as they wanted to stay out there and get their 100s.

“But as I said at the end of the game, fair enough but I am not going to bowl my bowlers in a situation where we can’t win the game.
“We are over it, I think India are over that whole thing.
“Let’s just try our best not to focus on a 20-minute period of cricket when it has been such a great series so far.”

Meanwhile, Stokes was ruled out of the final Test against India because of an injury. England also made three other changes with Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue, and Jacob Bethell, and Gus Atkinson Stokes, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, and Brydon Carse.

The series between England and India has been intense. Before the final Test, the Indian coach and the Oval pitch manager had a tense talk due to the manager’s impolite manner. However, Indian captain Shubman Gill said that both teams respected each other and left any rivalries on the field.

“I think I have already explained what happened at Lord’s and about even the incident that happened on the last day in the previous Test,” Gill said.
“Both the teams have been very competitive. And sometimes when you are competitive, you know, in the heat of the moment, you do or say things that you might not do (otherwise).
“But I think once the match is over, there is mutual respect between both the teams.”