England captain Ben Stokes has finally clarified the ‘handshake controversy’ that took place at the end of the fourth Test match against India.

The matter came to light when Indian batsmen Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar were close to their centuries on the final day of the match and Stokes offered to draw the game, which the Indian players rejected and continued batting.

Later, a video went viral in which Stokes was seen shaking hands with all the Indian players after the match but turned away as soon as Jadeja approached.

The video also showed a few exchanges between the two players, which led to anger at Stokes on social media.

In a press conference, Ben Stokes explained that Jadeja and Sundar played a brilliant innings and since the result was not possible, he decided to save the fitness of his main bowlers. He said, “Whether it is a century or not, the real success is to get the team out of trouble.”

Defending the criticism of giving the last overs to a part-time bowler like Harry Brook, Stokes said that the decision was made keeping in mind the preparation for the next match and the fitness of the players.

On the other hand, India coach Gautam Gambhir expressed his displeasure at the attempt to stop Jadeja and Sundar from scoring centuries, saying that both batsmen fully deserved their three-figure scores, no matter what the outcome of the match.

Jadeja’s refusal has sparked a new debate on social media on whether personal records should influence team decisions.

England are leading the five-match series 1-2, having won the first Test of the series by 5 wickets.

India won the second match by 336 runs, while England won the third Test by 22 runs. The fifth and final Test of the series will begin at The Oval from July 31.