Gautam Gambhir fires back at English reporter after question on no-handshake drama: 'Would England have walked off?'

Gautam Gambhir reacted aggressively to the drama during the final moments of the Manchester Test, when India turned down Stokes' offer for a draw.

The final minutes of the Manchester Test between India and England saw a high-voltage drama between English players and India's Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, after the duo turned down an offer for a draw from Ben Stokes. With both Indian batters nearing hard-earned centuries after a marathon effort, they refused to settle, prompting visible frustration from the England captain. What followed was a heated on-field exchange, capping off the intense final moments in the game.

Gautam Gambhir didn't mince words as he spoke about the drama during the final minutes in Manchester (X/Reuters)

Both batters reached their centuries after Jadeja was verbally targeted by English players, and the post-match handshakes also saw Stokes snubbing the Indian duo, igniting further controversy. While Indian captain Shubman Gill backed both players, stating it was within their right to reach the three-figure mark, Stokes insisted that he wanted to preserve his bowlers.

Gautam Gambhir, never one to mince words, backed Sundar and Jadeja unequivocally when asked about the handshake standoff during the post-match press conference. In his trademark blunt fashion, the Indian head coach flipped the question back at England, wondering aloud if their batters would've acted any differently had one of them been chasing a maiden Test hundred.

“If someone is batting on 90, and the other is batting on 85, don't they deserve a hundred?” asked Gambhir.

“Would they have walked off? If someone from England would've been batting on 90 or 85, and had the opportunity to score their first Test hundred, wouldn't you allow them to do it?”

Sundar reached his maiden Test century in the second innings. Immediately after the left-hander reached his three-figure mark, the handshakes took place between both teams.

“See, it's up to them. If they want to play that way, it's up to them. I think both of those guys deserved a hundred, and they got it,” Gambhir further said.

India keep series alive

Thanks to a herculean effort by the Indian batting order in the second innings, the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy remains alive with India having a chance to draw the series. The side required a favourable result in Manchester with England leading the series 2-1, and will now travel to London with hopes of repeating a similar scoreline to the previous tour of England, where the hosts had secured a comeback win to draw the series.