Ben Stokes defends decision to offer early draw to India, says 'never going to risk any front-line bowlers'

England captain Ben Stokes has defended his decision to offer India an early draw as tempers were seen flaring on the final day of the Manchester Test, which ultimately ended in a stalemate on Sunday (July 27). Stokes and India batter Ravindra Jadeja were seen exchanging words after the Manchester Test, with the former having proposed a draw. However, that proposal was declined by Jadeja and Washington Sundar as they approached their respective hundreds. After the match, Stokes defended his decision to offer India an early draw as he wanted to protect his front-line bowlers.

Stokes defends early decision

“We took the game as far as we could with our front-line bowlers to think that we've got a real chance of still winning this game. But as soon as it got to that point where the draw was inevitable, I was never going to risk any of my front-line bowlers with the short turnaround that we have and the workload we've got through this week and throughout the series as well. As soon as 15 overs or the last hour was there, it was always going to be a shake hands,” said Stokes in the post-match press conference.

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England were unable to get the better of Indian batters on Day 5 of the Manchester Test as the visitors trailed by 237 runs at the start of play. Despite early wickets of KL Rahul (90) and Shubman Gill (103), India were able to salvage a draw after Washington Sundar (101) and Ravindra Jadeja (107) were impressive with the bat.

Immediately after the tons, India accepted a draw in the Manchester Test, just the second time a match ended in a stalemate in Brendon McCullum’s coaching era.

The two nations will meet again in the final Test match starting on Thursday (July 31), as India will be in a must-win territory as they trail 2-1 in the series.