'I have no sympathy for India...': Ex-England star blasts Shubman Gill & Co. over Dukes ball controversy

After beginning the first session of Day 2 at Lord's on a dominant note thanks to Jasprit Bumrah's fantastic bowling display, a surprising ball change ended up costing India big time. As the ball got changed, the momentum shifted completely and England batters started to dominate.

Earlier, Bumrah had managed to pick up the big wickets of Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Chris Woakes to restrict England 271/7 at one stage. Then, Mohammed Siraj suddenly complained about the ball to the on-field umpire, who agreed to change it. However, Siraj did so without even consulting Bumrah, who had bowled some terrific overs just minutes before.

The new ball didn't help India at all

The new ball offered next to no movement and the duo of Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse punished the Indian bowlers for the remainder of the session. The hosts went into the break on 353/7 with Smith unbeaten on 51 and Carse batting on 33.

Former England pacer Steve Harmison was highly critical of Team India and Siraj in particular for not consulting Bumrah about the ball change. In his verdict over the controversy regarding the Dukes ball, Harmison stated that he doesn't have any sympathy for Shubman Gill & Co.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Mohammed Siraj gives fitting tribute to Diogo Jota after dismissing Jamie Smith on Day 2 of Lord's Test

"I've got no sympathy for India at all. Why change it? Jasprit Bumrah got it swinging around the corners. Mohammed Siraj didn't even throw the ball to Bumrah, didn't ask his opinion. When he asked for the ball to be changed, the ball was doing a lot. Now, the ball being good enough is a different argument. In this situation, I've got no idea why India decided to change the ball," Harmison said on JioHotstar.

“The ball was doing all sorts. They just picked up three wickets, and then it was an absolute implosion. Gill stopped trying to get Jamie Smith out, put all the fielders out. All of a sudden, you've now got the older ball. I do agree the ball was a lot older than the one they replaced. Within 10 minutes, they got from bowling England out for 320 to now potentially England getting 400. Because you feel hard done by when the ball was actually doing quite a lot. That's why I've a pretty little sympathy with India. They should've never done that," he added.

India's frustration was visible after the ball change and skipper Shubman Gill was also involved in a heated exchange with the umpire. Another person who wasn't happy with the new ball was Siraj, who was the first player to complain about the old ball. The Indian pacer wasn't shy in giving a sarcastic remark to the umpire stating, "This is 10-overs old ball? Seriously?"

ALSO READ: Will Rishabh Pant come to bat in India vs England 3rd Test amidst injury scare? Here comes the massive update

Despite their protests, the umpire decided to not change the ball again and the play went on. The 82-run partnership between Smith and Carse may have hurt India a lot, however they came back all guns blazing in the second session and quickly picked up the remaining three scalps to bundle out the hosts for 387. Bumrah was once again the star performer for the visitors, finishing with figures of 5/74 while both Siraj and Nitish Kumar Reddy got two scalps each. Finally, Ravindra Jadeja also chipped in a wicket.