ENG vs IND: Shubman Gill 'Clears The Air' On Heated Exchange with Zak Crawley in the Lord's Test

Indian captain Shubman Gill clarified his heated exchange with Zak Crawley during the Lord’s Test, blaming England’s time-wasting tactics. While admitting such tactics are common, he said his reaction wasn’t ideal and not something he was proud of.

Team India captain Shubman Gill broke his silence over heated altercation with England opener Zak Crawley in the third match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 at Lord’s in London.

The tensions flared between England and India after Shubman Gill accused Zak Crawley of deliberately ‘wasting time’ in order to disrupt the rhythm of Jasprit Bumrah, who was at his menacing best on Day 3 of the Lord’s Test. Gill was heard saying ‘Grow some f****** b**s’ to Crawley, expressing his frustration at what he believed was deliberate time-wasting tactics.

Then, Zak Crawley was hit on his fingers by Jasprit Bumrah’s delivery, and Indian players sarcastically clapped at him, further escalating the on-field tension after England opener and Shubman Gill once again were involved in a verbal altercation, and Ben Duckett stepped in to defuse the situation.

Shubman Gill clarifies his on-field outburst

Speaking to the media on the eve of Manchester Test, Shubman Gill ‘cleared the air’ on his heated altercation with Zak Crawley, stating that England were 90 seconds late in taking the crease after India’s first innings batting.

Gill admitted that ‘wasting-time tactic’ by England is not something new as it is often used in Test cricket, adding that India might also use this strategy in the right manner.

“A lot of people have been talking about this, so let me just clear the air for once and for all. The English batters on that day had seven minutes of play left. They were 90 seconds late to come to the crease,” Team India captain said.

“Not 10, not 20, 90 seconds late. Yes, most of the teams use this tactic. Even if we were in a position, we would have also liked to play fewer overs. But there's a manner to do it. And we felt, yes, if you get hit on your body, the physios are allowed to come on. And that is something that is fair," he added.

The heated exchange between Shubman Gill and Zak Crawley set the stage for the final two days of the Lord’s Test with both teams carrying added intensity and emotion into the contest. On Day 4, England were bundled out for 192 and set a 193-run target for India to chase. However, the visitors succumbed to early pressure as they collapsed to 58/4 at stumps.

On the final day, India were bundled out for 170, heartbreakingly falling 23 runs short of the target, despite strong resistance from Ravindra Jadeja, who played a valiant unbeaten innings of 61 off 181 balls.

‘Not something that I'm very proud of’

Further speaking on the heated altercation between him and Zak Crawley, Shubman Gill believes that England were not in the right spirit of the game for coming to the crease late by 90 seconds. However, Team India skipper is not taking pride in or is not proud of the way he reacted in the heat of the moment.

“But to be able to come 90 seconds late on the crease is not something that I would think comes in the spirit of the game. And just leading up to that event, a lot of things that we thought should not have happened had happened. And it's not, I wouldn't say it was something that I'm very proud of,” Gill told reporters.

“But there was a lead-up and build-up to that. It didn't just come out of nowhere. And we had no intention of doing that whatsoever.

“But it's just, you're playing a game you're playing to win. And there are a lot of emotions involved. And when you see there are things happening that should not happen, sometimes the emotions come out of nowhere,” he added.

Meanwhile, The Shubman Gill-side Team India is currently trailing 1-2 in the five-match series after Lord’s Test defeat. Team India will head to Old Trafford not only to level the series but also to break 89-year Test winless streak at the venue.