Shubman Gill backs Gautam Gambhir on his heated exchange with Oval pitch curator says, 'We never had any instructions...'

India captain Shubman Gill showed full support to head coach Gautam Gambhir following the latter's heated verbal argument with the Oval pitch curator Lee Fortis. The incident took place on Tuesday during India's optional training session ahead of the fifth Test which is set to commence from July 31. India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak soon intervened between the two and later revealed that pitch curator had yelled at the Indian support staff and Gambhir was left furious due to his and was soon involved in the altercation.

Gill has backed Gambhir over the controversy

Now, Gill has come forward to reveal that the Indian team hadn't been instructed by anyone to maintain a 2.5 m distance from the pitch so they weren't in the wrong. He further went on to state that a coach has all rights to take a closer look at the pitch and that there is no reason why the curator should be worried about it.

"As far as I remember we never had any instructions before about maintaining 2.5 m distance from the pitch. I don't know what the fuss was all about yesterday." Gill said at the pre-match press-conference.

"A coach has every right to go and have a close look at the wicket. I don't know why the curator won't let that happen. This is not the first time we're having a look at the wicket," he added.

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Gill also gave his take on the short gap between the fourth and fifth Test. Notably, both teams only got a rest of four days between the two matches. With the gruelling Manchester Test getting decided on the final day, both teams must still be a little tired coming into the fifth Test. However, Gill didn't make much of the small gap and stated that increasing it will only make the tour longer.

"All the matches have gone to the last session of the 5th day. I don't remember when it happened earlier. It was a great series. Also if you increase the gap between the matches the tour becomes much longer," Gill stated.

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Meanwhile, India head into the fifth and final Test of the series, trailing behind England by 2-1. The draw at Old Trafford may have resulted in the Men in Blue losing all their chances of triumphing in the series, but they can still level it up if they record a victory at The Oval. However, the Three Lions will definitely be favourites to lift the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy as even a draw in the fifth Test will see them win the series.