England were as aggressive as the Indian players when it came to verbal battles
Playing cricket at the highest level is not for the weak hearted. Having high skill levels and being fit are the essentials but the ability to soak in the pressures of international cricket requires a player to grow thick skin.
Playing in India, Australia or England means tolerating the hostility of the partisan crowds and also taking part in verbal duels with the opponents that can take away the focus from the moment.
Indians have traditionally been the dignified visitors for most of their history, but the 21st century heralded a shift in the dynamics as they too started hitting back at jibes.
The verbal side of India’s game that started developing under Sourav Ganguly’s aggressive, highly-vocal captaincy and was at its finest when Virat Kohli told James Anderson, “You are not playing in your backyard Jimmy” shortly after ordering his men to show England ‘60 overs of hell’ in 2021.
The 2025 series was a saga in itself as India were wounded from their series defeats against New Zealand and Australia, while England had to be loose with their taunts knowing that The Ashes in Australia will be nastier.
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Zak Crawley and Shubman Gill started at Edgbaston and wagged fingers at each other at Lord’s and then took potshots in press conferences in Manchester. Ravindra Jadeja, always the light-hearted character, had to tell Ben Stokes to not bother him about a draw before he and Washington Sundar got to their hard-earned hundreds.
Akash Deep, new to international cricket, put his hands around an exasperated Ben Duckett after dismissing him at The Oval while Prasidh Krishna managed to somehow get on Joe Root’s nerves in the same innings.
But everyone knows that the words will stay on the cricket field as the players take time off after a grueling two months of Test cricket.
After India’s series-leveling six-run victory in the final Test, Stokes was sure that neither team would take any of the words said on the field to heart.
“There’s always going to be moments where emotion comes out from both sides, in particular when the game’s on the line. I’ve said it few times before, but I don’t think any of my lads are going to be going to sleep crying over what was said. And I don’t think any of the Indian players have been going to bed crying over what was said either,” the England skipper said in the post-match presentation on Monday.
Stokes, who finished the series with 17 wickets and 304 runs from four Tests, said that the intensity was necessary from both sides when they had a lot at stake.
“I think it just shows that, you know, the passion and the desire that everyone who walks out representing their country with their nation’s flag on their chest means,” Stokes added.
India and England will take few weeks off before heading to their next assignments in September – Asia Cup in the UAE for India and white-ball series against South Africa for England.
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