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India National Cricket Team vs England Cricket Team: The final Test between India and England was a preceded by a 'fiery' incident between Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir and Oval pitch curator Lee Fortis which caught the attention of fans and former Cricketers alike. Former Australian opener, who was part of the famous Aussie Team, also gave his opinion around the incident during a podcast. Hayden in his remarks, stated that Gambhir could have used better words to describe his sentiment, but was also while critical of curator Fortis for his conduct.

For the unversed, the incident happened during one of the practice sessions at the ground ahead of the fifth Test. Gambhir, was heard using stern words against Fortis - “You don’t tell any of us what we need to do. You have no right to tell us, you’re just a groundsman, nothing more.”

“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’.

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Right after the session, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, who was also involved in the incident kept his point brilliantly at the press conference.

“When we went to see the pitch, we were asked by someone to keep a 2.5-metre distance. This was surprising. The Test would be in a few days and we were wearing joggers. So it felt a bit odd. We all have been on the ground enough, we have played so much cricket. Curators are possessive about the ground and the square but they need to understand that they are speaking to highly skilled and intelligent people,” Kotak said.

Greg Blewett, also threw his weight behind Hayden’s words, saying that Gambhir should have made a better choice of words.

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“I agree. Even now, even as a commentator, you get near the pitch and everyone is saying you can’t get anywhere near it and you’re like I haven’t got spikes on. It is quite ridiculous. I get the frustration. But I agree that the language that he used wasn’t great. If he reflects, he could have probably handled it a little better,” he added.