India's early request for a ball change on Day 2 of the ongoing third Test at Lord's has drawn criticism from former England captain Nasser Hussain.

In the opening session of the third Test match between India and England at Lord's on Friday, the Dukes ball was changed twice because the Indian team, led by skipper Shubman Gill, were quite dissatisfied with the ball's loss of form after only a few overs.

On the second day, India got off to a fast start thanks to Jasprit Bumrah, who got rid of Ben Stokes, Joe Root, and Chris Woakes in seven deliveries. The new ball was just 10.3 overs old, but India was unhappy with the balls and made a change by the 90.3 overs.

The match began to veer toward England as the new ball proved to be less effective. With an aggressive knock, Jamie Smith spearheaded England's attack while Indian bowlers found it difficult to keep up.

After just 48 deliveries, the replacement ball was eventually replaced once more while Gill engaged in a heated discussion with the on-field umpires.

Former England cricketer Nasser Hussain questioned India's request for a ball change after just 10.3 overs, when Bumrah took three wickets with it, amid criticism of the Dukes balls and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) from Indian cricket team supporters.

“Well, I really thought it was a very oddball change from India. There are two reasons you change a cricket ball. One, because the umpires think it’s gone outta shape, or two, because the bowling attack and the captain realised that the ball’s doing nothing, and you try and get the umpires to change it. The ball was doing everything this morning,” Hussain stated on Sky Cricket.

“The ball they had for 63 deliveries was zipping around corners. Bumrah was going through a magic spell. Siraj at the other end was having catches dropped. The ball was carrying through to the wicket-keeper. It was doing everything. It’s doing more than any stage in the Test match. I cannot work out why you’d want to change a ball that was doing this much, 63 deliveries of the ball zipping around.

Not only did they want change, but the captain got really animated when they didn’t change it. I thought it was one of the most bizarre decisions. You’ve got a ball in your hand that’s doing a lot. We all know these Dukes balls are variable,” Hussain added.

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On the other hand, former England pacer, Stuart Broad, who took 604 wickets in 167 Tests, disagreed with Hussain as he shared a different opinion. According to Broad, the Dukes balls have struggled to last for the past five years or so.

“The cricket ball should be like a fine wicket-keeper. Barely noticed. We are having to talk about the ball too much because it is such an issue, & being changed virtually every innings. Unacceptable. Feels like it’s been 5 years now. Dukes have a problem. They need to fix it. A ball should last 80 overs. Not 10.,” Broad wrote on X.