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Tempers flared throughout the five-Test series. The new India Test captain, Shubman Gill wasn’t afraid to use his words to rile up the opposition. There were mind games, a few abuses hurled, a few physical altercations as well during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. But, both the teams left it on the field. After the completion of the series, England skipper Ben Stokes who missed the fifth Test due to a shoulder injury, said that it was just “passion and desire”.
“Yeah, it’s been awesome. You know, India-England is always a massive series. There are always going to be moments where emotions come out from both sides, especially when the game is on the line,” Stokes told Sky Sports.
“I’ve said it a few times before—I don’t think any of my lads are 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 it either.
“I think it just shows the passion and desire that everyone has when representing their country with their nation’s flag on their chest.”
What Root said about Siraj’s aggression?
Earlier, former England Test captain Joe Root also said that Siraj is a “really nice lad” and the aggression on the field is “fake angriness” at times to get under the skin of the opposition.
“He’s a character, a warrior, he’s a real warrior," Root said in the post-day 4 press conference. “He’s someone that you want on your team; he’s that kind of character. He gives everything for India, and credit to him for that, the way he approaches cricket. He’s got this, like, fake angriness about him sometimes, which I can see straight through. He’s actually a really nice lad, but he tries it incredibly hard. He’s a very skillful player; there’s a reason why he’s got all those wickets."
“It’s because of his work ethic and skill level. I enjoy playing against him. He’s always got a big smile on his face, and he’ll give everything for his team. So I guess you couldn’t want anything more of that as fan watching, and he’s a great example to any young players starting out," he added.
Stokes ready for the Ashes
With the Test series at home against India ending in 2-2, Stokes is looking forward to the Ashes on Australian soil. He lauded the bowlers for putting in the hard yards in an injured Chris Woakes’ absence.
“When one of your bowlers goes down so early in the game, the role of the other seamers changes,” Stokes told the BBC. “Even in the second innings, the heart and desire they showed were amazing. There were many what-ifs in the last five days, which made the game great, but all (coach) Brendon (McCullum) and I asked was to give it everything. (Josh) Tongue, Atkinson, and (Jamie) Overton showed it.
“The way in which we’ve been able to perform throughout the series, I’m looking forward to getting to Australia and doing what we want to go out there and do.”
Stokes will have plenty of time to recover from the shoulder injury. The Ashes 2025-26 will kick off on November 21 at Perth Stadium.
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