India and England players have raised concerns over the quality of the Dukes ball being used in the ongoing Test series. The second match at Edgbaston saw the red cheery going out of shape far too soon, prompting visuals of players from both sides asking the umpire to change the ball.

The Lord's Test was no different as things got a bit out of control on the morning of Day 2, with Shubman Gill having a heated exchange with the on-field umpires over the ball's condition.

Following England’s narrow win at Lord’s, former skipper Alastair Cook weighed in on the debate and also took a hilarious dig at bowlers.

Speaking on BBC Sport, Cook quipped that bowlers often look for excuses when things don’t go their way.

"I just love how bowlers are always moaning. It's like they bowl a bad ball and it's never their fault. They’ve scraped the footmark... If they bowl a bad ball, they look at the ball and blame the shape," Cook said.

He also shared his take on what impact it has on batting. "I think a batsman would much rather hit some slightly harder ball. Nothing worse than playing a lovely cover drive like I used to and it going nowhere," Cook added.

During the Lord’s Test, former England cricketer-turned-commentator Nasser Hussain launched a scathing attack on the Indian team for their persistent ball change requests and expressed his surprise at the same.

"I cannot work out why you’d want to change a ball that was doing this much. I thought it was one of the most bizarre decisions,” said Hussain.

India were bowled out for 170 while chasing 193 at Lord’s, thereby conceding 1-2 lead to England in the five-match series.

The penultimate Test of the five-match series is scheduled to be held at Old Trafford, Manchester from July 23.