Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar was visibly displeased with England’s aggressive short-ball approach aimed at Rishabh Pant during Day 3 of Lord’s Test.
While commentating, Gavaskar strongly criticized the English bowlers for deliberately targeting Pant, who was clearly struggling due to a finger injury on his left hand.
Notably, around 60% of the deliveries bowled by England’s pacers in the morning session were bouncers, used tactically to slow India’s scoring momentum on a day they were dominating.
Stokes even positioned six fielders on the leg side, clearly hoping Pant would mistime a pull shot and offer a catch. Despite being hit a couple of times and receiving treatment from the physio, Pant showed great courage by continuing to bat. However, Gavaskar did not hold back his criticism, calling the strategy unfair and against the spirit of the game.
He strongly stated that it was wrong to bowl short balls to an already injured batter, emphasizing: “This is not what cricket should be about.”
“Fifty-six percent of the balls bowled today have been short. They have four fielders on the boundary waiting for the bouncer. That is not cricket, according to me. When the West Indies were bowling short, they brought in a rule for only two bouncers per over. That was to restrict the strength of the West Indies,” Gavaskar said on commentary on Day 3.
“Now we are seeing bouncers being bowled. Look at the field that has been arranged. This is not cricket. There should not be more than six fielders on the leg side. If Sourav Ganguly, who is the chairman of the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee, is watching this, please make sure that next time not more than six fielders can be kept on the leg side,” he added.
Pant’s Injury: What Happened?
The left-handed wicketkeeper-batter injured his index finger on Day 1 of the match while collecting a delivery down the leg side during England’s innings. As a result, Pant had to leave the field temporarily, and Dhruv Jurel took over wicketkeeping duties in his absence.
Despite the injury, Pant returned to bat on Day 3 and displayed immense determination. He built a crucial century partnership with KL Rahul, helping India take control during the first session.
Pant’s innings ended in unfortunate fashion just before lunch when he was run out attempting a risky single off a push towards short cover, where Stokes fielded sharply. He scored a valuable 74 runs off 112 balls, pushing his series tally to 416 runs.
