ENG vs IND 2025: ‘Arrey sir ji, no one doubted his class’ – Ravichandran Ashwin gives cheeky reply to fan after Ben Stokes’ ton

England captain Ben Stokes scripted history at Old Trafford in Manchester on Day 4 of the fourth Test against India, producing a performance that scripted history. Stokes’ 141 and a five-wicket haul not only guided England into a dominant position with a 311-run first innings lead but also saw a cheeky response from India’s veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

Notably, Ashwin had questioned Stokes’ form with the bat. Meanwhile, Stokes answered with a 141 off 198 balls. His century, his first in two years, and after a drought of 35 innings. The English skipper had already made his mark with the ball in the first innings, picking up a 5/72 to dismantle India’s batting lineup. With this rare double, Stokes became only the fifth captain in Test history, and the first English one, to score a century and take a five-wicket haul in the same match.

He also joined greats Gary Sobers and Jacques Kallis as only the third all-rounder to achieve the double of 7000+ Test runs and 200+ wickets. However, earlier in the series, Ashwin had questioned Stokes’ contributions with the bat. Post Stokes’ knock, a fan took a dig at Ashwin on X. “Anna (Big Brother) @ashwinravi99, this is Ben Stokes #BenStokes,” the fan wrote.

To which Ashwin replied, “Arrey (Attention), sir ji, no one doubted his class! He got his first fifer after 2017; this game was a hundred after two years! This has come because of his traditional test match approach to batting and not the carefree one he had adopted before this. Ben Stokes is a fabulous player. I take my hat off to him. But we need to remember one thing. Barring that Headingley heroics in the Ashes, what has he achieved as a batter? The readiness to play a Test match in the way a Test match needs to be played—that is the problem from the leadership standpoint. You are telling every batter to go and play an attacking brand of cricket, so you need to play like that only.”

Stokes’s all-round brilliance came at an important moment in the series. With England already leading 2-1 after dramatic wins in Leeds and Lord’s, his performance further tilted the momentum in the hosts’ favour. England’s mammoth 669 was built on his knock, Joe Root’s 150, and contributions from the top order. Meanwhile, India, after losing two quick wickets in their second innings, saw skipper Shubman Gill and KL Rahul stabilise the innings. At the time of writing, India’s scorecard read 86/2 after 29 overs, and they trail by 225 runs. 

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