“Take the bails off because it’s a farce” - David Lloyd slams Jadeja and Sundar amid handshake controversy

Former England cricketer and commentator David Lloyd has come out harshly on the Indian duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar for not shaking hands with the English skipper Ben Stokes on the fifth and final day of the Manchester Test.

Lloyd asserted that when there was no result possible, umpires should’ve called it a stalemate, ending the game by removing the bails off. Furthermore, he stated that batters can’t go on and play to reach their centuries by going against the law books.

“There’s a facility to end the game. Take the bails off because it’s a farce. Would you want to get your (100) if you’re on 80, would you want to get your maiden Test match century against law books?” Llyod said speaking on The Overlap’s cricket. 

“I think the umpire, the game, there’s a facility in the game to call a stalemate, of which Ben Stokes called the stalemate, ‘we can’t win this game, they (India) can’t win the game,’” he added.

The England skipper Ben Stokes, who attended the media ahead of the fifth Test, also opened up on the controversy, stating that he understood the viewpoint of Jadeja and Sundar on trying to get to their hundreds.

However, he added that he doesn’t want to expose his main bowlers to injuries when there is no result possible. Nevertheless, he noted that the media shouldn’t focus too much on the 20-minute drama as both sides have had an exceptional series so far.

"Two lads, Jadeja and Washington, played incredibly well up until that point. So you sort of understand as to why they wanted to stay out there and get the hundreds. But again, like I said at the end of the game, fair enough. But I'm not going to bowl any of my bowlers in a situation where we can't win the game and expose any of those guys to injury. So it's just, we're over it," Ben Stokes told the Media.

"I think India is over that whole thing. Let's just try not to focus too much on a 20-minute period of cricket. Yeah, and it's been such a good series so far," he added.

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