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India Great Tears Into Matthew Hayden Over Gautam Gambhir-Pitch Curator Row

India Great Tears Into Matthew Hayden Over Gautam Gambhir-Pitch Curator Row

NDTV16 hours ago
India head coach Gautam Gambhir found himself in the middle of a controversy ahead of the start of the 5th and final Test against England at the Kennington Oval. In one of India's practice sessions before the first day's play, Gambhir had a bit of an altercation with the pitch curator Lee Fortis. The altercations made headlines all across the cricketing spectrum, with opinions on the topic being divided. It was former Australian batter Matthew Hayden 's verdict on the incident that left India great Dilip Vengsarkar disappointed.
"As the head coach of the Indian team, Gambhir had every right to see the pitch from close quarters. When teams tour India, their entire squad, not just the captain and coach, examines the pitch minutely. Even their media inspect the pitch before the match. No one tells them anything. So, how are the rules different when we are playing in England?" Vengsarkar said in a chat with the Times of India.
Earlier, Hayden had asserted that Gambhir should've used better words during the incident.
"This is a typical case in England. It is a bit of a flex, here we are, final Test match, this is my venue, and they are going to try and make it difficult on Gautam Gambhir. But I think he's got every right to tone it down. He could have used better language. But the reality is, his team is trying to train ahead of the most important Test match," Hayden said on All Over Bar The Cricket
Vengsarkar questioned the hypocrisy of Hayden, saying he or any other Australian cricketer would not have used the finest of words had something similar happened to them.
"Would Hayden, or any of the Aussie cricketers, take it well if a curator had asked them to stay away from the square ahead of an important match? If this had happened to the Aussies, they would have used the choicest words to show the curator his place," he added.
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