Indian batsmen Shubman Gill, Sarfaraz Khan, wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, and England batsman Jonny Bairstow were involved in a heated argument on the third day of the fifth Test match at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala.
This was the first instance of the Indian and England cricketers being involved in a serious sledging episode in the entire series, which was played in very good spirits. It happened in the Saturday morning session when Bairstow was trying to partner with Joe Root to get England out of trouble in his 100th Test.
Jasprit Bumrah, leading India in the absence of Rohit Sharma – not in the field due to back stiffness – bowled the ball to first-innings hero Kuldeep Yadav after Ravichandran Ashwin had already put India in a strong position. As Kuldeep was preparing to bowl his first ball in the 18th over of England’s second innings, the stump mic caught Bairstow going towards Gill, who was standing in the slip circle.
Bairstow was reminding Gill of how James Anderson had clean-bowled him the other day after he indulged in banter with the England legend. Gill immediately hit back saying that this happened only after he completed his century.
Gill also took a dig at Baristo for his poor performance in the series. Jurel was then heard trying to calm Bairstow down. After Kuldeep bowled the first ball, Sarfaraz, standing at forward short leg, quickly joined in.
