Tendulkar Tears Into Ben Stokes Over 'Handshake Drama': "It Was His Choice"

An enthralling Anderson-Tendulkar trophy came to an end at the Kennington Oval on Monday, when India levelled the scores 2-2 with a heroic 6-run victory. The scoreline truly summed up the nature of the battle both teams produced on the field, with the 25 days of cricketing contest producing neck-to-neck competition. However, the series also had its controversies and debate-stirring incidents. One of the biggest talking points of the series was the end of the 4th Test in Manchester, where Ravindra Jadeja declined Ben Stokes' offer to end the series in a draw.

The incident triggered a huge debate on social media, with fans, former cricketers, and pundits being divided in their opinions about whether Jadeja was right to turn down Stokes' offer. The great Sachin Tendulkar has now broken his silence on the subject, saying the duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar had every right to continue playing.

"Washington scored a hundred, and Jadeja scored a hundred. Why is it not in the right spirit? They were playing for a draw. Before that, they battled it out when England were having a go at them, and negotiated it all to bat brilliantly," began Tendulkar as he reviewed the series in a video posted on Reddit.

"The series was alive, so why should they go ahead (and shake hands) and give rest to England bowlers and fielders? If England wanted to hand the ball to Harry Brook, it was Ben Stokes' choice. It wasn't India's problem. To me, it was fine. They were playing for a draw, not their hundreds. If they had gotten out when they came to bat, we could've lost. When they came out to bat, Harry Brook wasn't bowling, was he? So, why should England's bowlers be fresh for the 5th Test? Do you have an answer for that? No!" said Tendulkar.

Some ex-cricketers felt that since the object of the series, a draw, was reached, there was no reason for Jadeja and Sundar to continue batting. But, Tendulkar fully sided with the Shubman Gill-led side on the matter.

"I am absolutely with the Indian team, be it Gambhir or Shubman or Jadeja or Washington, who decided. I'm 100 percent with them. In the last Test match, when it was time to accelerate, Sundar did that brilliantly, didn't he? Where it was needed to occupy the crease, he did that in the fourth Test. And when it was needed to press the accelerator hard, he did that in the fifth. So, well done," said Tendulkar.

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