Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden shared his thoughts on the incident between India head coach Gautam Gambhir and The Oval pitch curator, Lee Fortis, ahead of the fifth Test against England. India went on to win the match by six runs, levelling the series 2-2.
The disagreement occurred during India’s training session when Fortis asked Gambhir and some staff members to vacate the pitch square. Gambhir reportedly took offence to the instruction, leading to a verbal exchange between the two.
Matthew Hayden noted that while Gautam Gambhir had every right to stand his ground, he felt the coach could have handled the situation with more appropriate language.
“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,” he said on ‘All Over Bar The Cricket’.
“Privatization could bring top Indian players to BBL”: Former cricketer
According to ESPN Cricinfo, Cricket Australia is reportedly open to the idea of privatizing the Big Bash League (BBL), their top T20 tournament. Former cricketer Greg Blewett believes this step could boost Australia’s finances and potentially pave the way for Indian players to take part in the BBL.
“I think the amount of money that has come in, the teams that were sold in England, the amount of money was frightening. So, from a long-term view, the health of Australian cricket would be amazing. That influx of money would be great,” he said.
“But I also think the added positive to that would be that we might start seeing some bloody good Indian players coming and playing in the BBL. It is known that the BCCI will not release their players. I think Australia, within three or four years, you’ll see privatization in the Big Bash,” he added.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
