“I am not exposing any of those guys” - Ben Stokes opens up on handshake controversy

England captain Ben Stokes has finally opened up on the handshake controversy, which caught a lot of attention after the conclusion of the Manchester Test, involving Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and English players on Day 5.

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Stokes, who addressed the media ahead of the fifth Test, stated that he completely understood why Jadeja and Sundar wanted to stay out there and get their respective centuries. However, he doesn’t want his main bowlers to get exposed and injured if any result isn’t possible. 

"Two lads, Jadeja and Washington, played incredibly well up until that point. So you sort of understand 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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Moving into the details of the incident, Stokes wanted a handshake from Jadeja and Sundar with 15 overs of play left on Day 5. However, the duo disagreed as they were batting in the 80s, which didn’t go down well with Stokes, who came up with an animated reaction.

Stokes further brought in Harry Book and Joe Root into the bowling attack. Eventually, the Indian batting duo reached their respective centuries before settling for a draw. 

It’s important to note that Stokes will miss the fifth and final Test due to a right shoulder injury. The final Test is scheduled to start on Thursday, July 31, at the Oval in London.

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