ENG vs IND: The last few days have been full of controversy in the ongoing Test series between England and India. From the handshake saga between Ben Stokes and the Indian batters to the verbal spat between Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir and pitch curator Lee Fortis. That has certainly raised the excitement for the fifth and final test at the Oval.
However, ahead of the start of the final test, the Indian captain Shubman Gill broke his silence on the argument between Gambhir and Fortis. The incident occurred during India’s training session near the pitch. The curator wasn’t happy about Gambhir, Gill, and co. coming close to the square. That irked Gambhir.
The Indian head coach was seen saying,
“You stop it; you don’t tell us what we need to do. You don’t tell us what we need to do, OK? You don’t tell any of my squad what we need to do. You have no right to tell us. You stay in your capacity. You are just a groundsman, nothing beyond.”
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Shubman Gill Supports Gambhir Over Argument with Curator
When asked about the argument, Fortis said that he didn’t want to harm the pitch. He said, “I don’t want to say anything. There’s quite a big game coming up, isn’t there?” Meanwhile, the Indian captain showed his support to Gambhir.
Meanwhile, Indian captain Shubman Gill backed his coach. In the pre-match press conference on Wednesday, Gill called the issue “absolutely unnecessary”. He defended Gambhir’s action, saying:
“The coach has every right to have a look at the wicket. We’ve been playing cricket all around the world for many years, and it’s never happened before.”
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Speaking of the game, India lost the fifth toss on this tour, and England’s stand-in captain Ollie Pope put India to bat first. At the time of lunch on Day 1, India had lost both openers. Yashasvi Jaiswal (2) and KL Rahul (14) got out cheaply. Earlier, England and India both made four changes to their playing XI. England are leading by 2-1, and this match will decide which way the series will go.
