India captain Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj took on the umpire on the second day of the third Test match against England by disputing the poor quality of the Dukes ball. They got into an animated discussion with the umpire regarding the ball, which was around 10 overs old. “You can see that is not a 10 over old ball, that is like a 20 over old ball,” Gavaskar said in support of the two.

The second new ball was taken at the 80-over mark on Thursday. India were unhappy with the condition of the new ball, which was around 10 overs old by then. The umpires changed the ball after it failed to pass the hoop test.

Gill then started talking to the umpire in an animated manner as he didn’t like the shape of the replacement ball either. “This is 10 overs old ball? Seriously?” Siraj was heard saying on the stump mic. Gill was furious while talking to the umpire and even snatched the ball away from the umpire’s hands. The umpire, however, dismissed his contention.

“Even from here you can see that is not a 10 over old ball, that is like a 20 over old ball,” Sunil Gavaskar quipped from the commentary box.

Before the third India-England Test, India vice-captain Rishabh Pant had also slammed the quality of the Dukes ball being used in the ongoing Test series against England, saying he has never seen the ball go out of shape to this extent. Players approaching umpires to change balls has been a regular feature in the series with Dukes losing shape. The bowlers are not getting any help from the ball after it gets softer, confining the batter-bowler contest to the new ball. Pant said the ball has become a big problem and it is not good for the game.

“The gauge to measure the balls should be the same, whether it is Dukes or Kookaburra. But it would be better if it was smaller. The balls are giving so much trouble. Definitely, I feel it’s a big problem. Because the ball is getting out of shape,” said Pant.

“What I’ve seen, the ball is getting de shaped too much. That has never happened like this to me. It’s definitely irritating for the players because every ball plays differently because when it becomes softer, sometimes it’s not doing too much. But as soon as it changes the ball, it’s starting to do enough. As a batsman, you’ve got to keep on adjusting to it. But at the same time, I feel it’s not good for cricket anyway,” said the explosive batsman.