Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has slammed the Oval head curator for asking Gautam Gambhir to stay away from the pitch, which led to a verbal spat between them as well. He also wondered whether the pitch was an antique piece that would break if the team touched it as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “The Oval head curator asked them to remove the icebox, that it can’t be taken on the square. What difference will it make if you keep the icebox on the corner pitch on the square? There are still two days before the match. Maybe you let it slide. Then you go to have a look at the pitch, and you are wearing rubber studs. You know the decorum. You won’t go to the pitch wearing spikes.”

READ HERE: “The reality is I was tired” – Jasprit Bumrah on not celebrating five-fer

“However, when you are going to have a look at the pitch, you are asked to stay away, that you need to be two-and-a-half meters away, and that is when the Indian felt it was wrong. I am not going to ruin your surface, and there are still 48 hours to go before the match. So how will it impact your health if I have a look at the pitch? What is this antique piece that would break if I move it?” he further added.

However, Aakash Chopra also questioned the curator for treating Gautam Gambhir and Brendon McCullum differently, stating that McCullum was seen standing on the pitch two days before an Ashes game in 2023 as well.

“It was the same curator in 2023, it was an Ashes match, and two days before that, he was standing on the pitch along with Brendon McCullum, the home team’s coach. If he can stand on the pitch 48 hours before the game, can the Indian players not go even close to the pitch? Can the Indian coach not go and see how the pitch is? I find this absolutely bizarre. I find this actually humiliating,” he said.

“There might be a question whether the choice of words was alright. This is about Gautam. Maybe that’s not right because you need to be politically correct, as your designation is like that. However, I can totally understand what goes through a person’s mind,” Aakash Chopra concluded.