Shubman Gill praised me as ‘incredibly brave’ – Chris Woakes on batting after dislocating shoulder in IND vs ENG Test

The drama and excitement in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 went right down to the wire on the 25th day of the five-match Test series.

After a nasty fall while trying to save a boundary on Day 1 of the Oval Test, Chris Woakes dislocated his shoulder and was not expected to return for the match. 

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However, in a sign of exceptional bravery and commitment to his team, he walked out to bat with his arm in a sling. It was required with England nine down and still in the chase when the team needed 17 runs to win.

While England ultimately fell short by six runs, Woakes' grit, despite the pain, earned praise from the Indian players, including captain Shubman Gill.

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Chris Woakes kept England's hopes alive in Oval Test

In the morning session of Day 5, England resumed their chase needing 35 runs with 4 wickets in hand. However, the hosts lost three wickets within an hour of play.

After Prasidh Krishna knocked Josh Tongue's stumps, the 36-year-old Woakes walked down the stairs to keep his team's hopes alive. If he hadn't come on, the team would've lost with nine wickets down, with him ruled as being absent-hurt.

Woakes had an arm guard on his right hand, possibly willing to bat left-handed despite being a right-handed batter.

With 17 runs needed, he had to run a couple of singles and a double to keep Gus Atkinson on strike. Woakes did not face any delivery but looked in excruciating pain when running.

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What did Shubman Gill say to Chris Woakes?

During his interview with the Guardian, Woakes revealed the praise he received from Gill and also discussed his conversation with Pant on Instagram.

"Shubman said something like: ‘That was incredibly brave,’ I told him: ‘You’ve had an unbelievable series, well played, and credit to your team.’" he revealed.

"I saw Rishabh [Pant] had put an image of me on Instagram with a salute emoji, so I replied, thanking him: ‘Appreciate the love and hope the foot is OK,’ etc. He then sent me a voice note saying: ‘I hope all is OK, good luck with the recovery and I hope we meet again out there some day.’ I obviously said sorry for the broken foot.”

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How did Chris Woakes perform in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy?

Woakes was the only English bowler to play all five Test matches of the series and scalped 11 wickets at an average of 52.18 and the best figures of 3/84.

He was England's third-highest wicket-taker behind Josh Tongue and Ben Stokes.