Shubman Gill lit the powder keg on the eve of the fourth Test here in Manchester by accusing England of acting outside the spirit of the game.
India captain Gill was at the centre of a third evening flashpoint in England’s 22-run win at Lord’s last week, firing expletives at opener Zak Crawley after medical treatment was called for following a blow to his right hand from fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.
It came towards the end of a spell of time-wasting that limited the number of deliveries sent down before the close to just six.
But Gill vented his anger at a perceived crossing of the line by his own team, saying: ‘A lot of people have been talking about it so let me just clear the air once and for all.
‘The English batsmen on that day had seven minutes of play left, they were 90 seconds late to come to the crease, not 10, not 20. 90 seconds late.
‘Yes, most of the teams use this, and if we were in this position we would have liked to play fewer overs but there’s a manner to do it.
India captain Shubman Gill has said England did not act ‘in the spirit of the game’ in the third Test at Lord’s
Gill fired expletives at opener Zak Crawley after medical treatment was called for following a blow to his right hand
Gill said: ‘To be able to come 90 seconds late to the crease is not something that comes in the spirit of the game’
‘If you get hit on your body, the physios are allowed to come on and that is something that is fair, but to be able to come 90 seconds late to the crease is not something that comes in the spirit of the game.’
The unsavoury incident, in which India’s mob of fielders converged upon Crawley and his first-wicket partner Ben Duckett, led to England upping the verbals in retaliation on days four and five.
Gill continued: ‘We had no intention of doing that whatsoever but you’re playing a game, you’re playing to win and there are a lot of emotions. When you see there are things happening that should not happen, sometimes emotions come out of nowhere.’
