Ben Stokes refuses to apologize in explosive handshake row, but declares Jadeja, Sundar 'RIGHT'

Ben Stokes has defended England’s behaviour during the end stages of the Manchester Test between India and England, saying that he had “no regrets” but admitted that Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar did nothing wrong by refusing a handshake.

The India vs England Test series has been witness to several intense and animated scenes across the last two matches; more needles await as the two teams take on at The Oval for the final decisive Test.

The India vs England final Test was already under the radar for heated exchanges between the Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir and the pitch curator at The Oval. The animated scenes from the Indian nets had taken the internet by storm, raising several conspiracy theories as well as assumptions.

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However, India as well as England skippers, Shubman Gill and Ben Stokes, respectively, had said that they do not hold grudges; they are all players looking for wins, and hence sometimes things get a bit escalated with some unwanted emotions, but it's all part of the game, and the relationship off the field is amazing between their players.

Shubman Gill's ugly altercation with England openers at Lord's

The first two Test matches in the series did not witness the amount of drama the third and fourth Test did. England began with a great win at Leeds and was followed by India's promising win at Edgbaston.

However, despite a great amount of competition in the first two games, the tensions started to flare from the Lord's Test when both teams were levelled with a scoreline of 1-1.

Shubman Gill, the Indian skipper, first began the confrontations with a heated exchange with the English openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett after they wasted some time not letting India bowl 2 overs at the end of Day 3.

Gill later clarified that he was irked by the English players delaying their entry on the field by 90 seconds, not by the time they had spent in the middle by calling in the physio. This incident was followed by Ben Stokes and co. mocking the Indian batters throughout their second innings.

Harry Brook sledged Nitish Kumar Reddy with an IPL reference, while Brydon Carse blasted Jadeja's shoulder with a blow.

Ben Stokes denies hundreds to Jadeja-Sundar at Old Trafford

After the animated scenes of fury and rage at Lord's, the two teams reached Manchester, with England taking the advantage in their home series with a win at Lord's.

Indian batters could not put anything special in the first innings and were bowled out for just 358 runs, while English batters responded with a mammoth 311-run lead in their innings.

India's next did a fairly good job with KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar all playing their hearts out to deny England the early series clinch before the last game.

A controversy erupted during the ending moments of the game, when Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar neared their hundreds, and Ben Stokes, instead of acknowledging that, offered to end the match with a handshake.

The Indians denied the offer, and the two batters continued play until they reached their hundreds. Ben Stokes Stokes and the English team did not praise their efforts on the field; however, later in an interaction on BBC, the England skipper said that they were right to offer the handshake, while the Indian batters were also right to opt for their hundreds.

“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,” Ben 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," Ben Stokes added.

"We were right to offer the handshake, they were also right to say: ‘No, we want our hundreds.’ We’re over it. I think India are over it. Let’s try our best not to focus too much on a 20-minute period of cricket when it’s been such a good series so far," Ben Stokes said.

There have been plenty of moments of tension in this England v India series - including at the end of the last Test.

Will we see further needle at The Oval? pic.twitter.com/5apxy9O2Cj

— Test Match Special (@bbctms) July 30, 2025

What drama awaits in the India vs England fifth Test at The Oval?

The Oval Test will mark the final Test of the series, and England in no way would settle for a loss after setting their eyes on the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. However, India would also eye a better position in the WTC as they end their first red-ball series in this cycle.

Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul were sent back early, while skipper Shubman Gill and his Gujarat Titans teammate Sai Sudharsan are giving a tough time to the English batters. At Lunch, they ended at 72/2 as rain interrupted the game suddenly.

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