Kariun Nair and Washington Sundar were hailed for their sporting gesture after an injury to Chris Woakes. The Indian pair refused to take unfair sporting advantage to Woakes’ unfortunate state after he tried to save a boundary.
Photo : AP
Karun and Washington Sundar were hailed by cricket fans on social media after they truly exemplified what ‘Spirit of Cricket’ means during the fifth Test between England and India at the Old Trafford Cricket Stadium in Manchester on Thursday (July 31), following an injury to Chris Woakes.
For those unversed, Woakes suffered a serious-looking injury in the 59th over after Nair played a straight drive on Jamie Overton’s delivery. The veteran England pacer ran hard to ensure the ball did not reach the boundary, but his dive proved costly as he appeared to have dislocated his shoulder.
Woakes recieved lengthy treatment on the field and walked off the ground, evidently in pain and with his shoulder covered.
The Indian pair ensured they did not take an unfair advantage of a player’s injury.
Karun Nair and Wahington Sundar didn’t run the 4th run as soon as Woakes went down and injured himself.
Spirit of the game 👏
— Rahul. (@meri_mrziii) July 31, 2025
Woakesy 🥺
— freya woods (@FreyaWoods8) July 31, 2025
Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery, @chriswoakes 🤞😢#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/zEAtAhIEeW
— England’s Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) July 31, 2025
An update on Woakes’ injury is still awaited. The 36-year-old is the only bowler in the English team to play all five matches in the series. Infact, India’s Mohammed Siraj is the only pacer from the Indian side to achieve the feat. However, the veteran pacer’s participation in the rest of the match is under serious doubt.
Talking about the match, England won the toss and chose to bowl first. India suffered a batting collapse on a green pitch with assistance for pacers and were reduced to 153-6 before Sundar joined Nair in the middle.
