The poor quality of the Dukes ball once again grabbed the limelight on the Day 2 of the 3rd India vs England on Friday. India captain Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj got into an animated chat with the umpire over the poor quality of the ball provided. The second new ball was taken at the 80-over mark on Thursday. On Friday, India were unhappy with the condition of the new ball, which was around 10-over old by then. The umpires changed the ball after it failed to pass the hoop test.
Gill then started having an animated chat with the umpire as he didn’t like the 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 he was talking to the umpire and he snatched the ball away from umpire’s hands too. The umpire, however, dismissed his arguments.
“Even from here you can see that is not a 10 over old ball, that is like a 20 over old ball,” Sunil Gavaskar supported India’s claim from the commentary box as the .
“Not Every Time Ump” – The ball did change but Shubman Gill is furious about something. https://t.co/yuzRKImvFr pic.twitter.com/RS9vfXvfbu
— Kanav Bali (@Concussion__Sub) July 11, 2025
Before the third India vs England Test, India vice-captain Rishabh Pant slammed the quality of the Dukes ball being used in the ongoing Test series against England, saying he has never seen the red cherry 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 its Dukes or Kookaburra. But it would be better if it was smaller (laughs). 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 a keep on adjusting to it. But at the same time, I feel it’s not good for cricket anyway,” said the explosive batter.
