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Cricket PlayersShubman Gill opens up on ‘grow some f*****g b***s’ episode involving Zak Crawley: ‘When we meet the next time…’
India captain Shubman Gill broke silence on the sledging war during the Lord's Test against England. Here's what he had to say.
India captain Shubman Gill played down the constant needle and sledging in the Lord's Test against England after the match ended in a 22-run defeat for the visitors on Monday. The third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy saw tempers flaring between the two teams, and there were constant verbal exchanges between players. The entire escalation point came on the third day after Gill had a go at England opener Zak Crawley after the latter deliberately wasted time to ensure India didn't get a second over in before stumps.
When Crawley constantly kept on backing away, Gill was heard on the stump mic, saying “Grow some f*****g b***s”.
The needle continued on Day 4 as Mohammed Siraj gave a fiery send-off to Ben Duckett, for which the India pacer was docked 15 per cent of his match fees. The last and final day of the Lord's Test saw even England not holding back as they went after all the Indian players.
Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar were given send-offs by Jofra Archer as he hurled a mouthful. Nitish Kumar Reddy was constantly poked by Ben Stokes and Harry Brook.
Gill, however, played out the fiery nature to the contest at the home of cricket, saying it is part and parcel of sport.
“I mean, you are giving everything. Mentally, physically, you are giving your everything, and there would be times when there would be a little bit of heat from both sides. I think this is what makes it more exciting and challenging. The next time we play each other, we know there won't be anything easy,” Gill told reporters.
“At the end of the day, there is a lot of admiration between the two teams. Both teams are trying their best to win the match and perform. There can be moments when there can be some heat. You are just trying to give your best, it can happen in a game of cricket, but this is what makes it so exciting,” he added.
‘Moments like these…’
During the post-match press conference, Shubman Gill was asked whether England took the sledging from the Indian camp to their hearts and whether this resulted in the hosts also coming down hard on the visitors on the final day.
However, Gill gave a straight response, saying one needs to expect such fiery contests when two teams are giving it their all.
“This is what makes it more exciting. Both teams are playing hard, trying their best to win the match. Moments like these make the series more interesting,” said Gill.
Speaking of the Lord's Test, India faced a 22-run defeat as Ravindra Jadeja's unbeaten 61-run knock went in vain. India were reeling at 112/8 at one stage, but Jadeja, along with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, tried his best to take India over the line.
However, a heartbreaking Mohammed Siraj dismissal off the bowling of Shoaib Bashir drew the curtain down on one of the most memorable Test matches.
