'No 2.5m Rule For Hosts?': Netizens Point Out Oval Groundsmen's Hypocrisy As England Batters Shadow Bat On Pitch, A Day After Gautam Gambhir's Verbal Altercation With Curator

With a couple of England batters shadow batting on the Kia Oval pitch in London, netizens have questioned the 'hypocrisy over allowing the hosts but not the Indian team ahead of the 5th Test. Keeping in mind, Gautam Gambhir's verbal chat with the Surrey groundsman and Sitanshu Kotak later revealing that the curator asked them to stand 2.5 meters away from the pitch, netizens questioned why the same rule doesn't apply to England.

The altercation between Gambhir and The Oval's curator Lee Fortis occurred 48 hours before the match when the visiting team were engaged in an optional training session. The former Indian opener was engaged in a war of words and batting coach Sitanshu Kotak later addressed the incident and revealed, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:

"When some of us coaches went to see the wicket, a member of the groundstaff said stay away at least 2.5 metres, which was a little surprising. Because it is the pitch, the match is starting day after, it will be a five-day Test, and we're standing in our joggers, so we felt a little awkward."

There were also reports that the ground authorities could lodge a complaint against him.

Here are some of the reactions by the netizens:

England make four changes to their XI for The Oval Test:

Meanwhile, England have triggered four changes to their playing XI for the fifth and final Test, with Ben Stokes also ruled out of the clash. Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue have come in for Stokes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer and Liam Dawson.

With the England captain ruled out of the clash, Ollie Pope will lead them.

England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue.