Pictures of England players shadow-batting on the pitch of The Oval, the venue for the fifth Test of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, emerged on the social media platform X earlier on Wednesday, July 30.England players Joe Root and Ollie Pope were seemingly on the pitch in a post shared by journalist Sahil Malhotra on X. This sparked debates on the same platform as to how curator Lee Fortis had allowed them to come onto the pitch.This was in reference to the ugly incident between Fortis and India head Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday, July 29, in which the latter was allegedly prevented from inspecting the pitch by the former. This led to Gambhir having a spat with Fortis.When Gambhir and batting coach Sitanshu Kotak were trying to inspect the pitch, Fortis had reportedly asked them to stay at least 2.5 metres away from it. However, seemingly, no such rules were applied to Root and Pope on Wednesday.Fans, therefore, were in no mood to let the incident be forgotten when pictures of Root and Pope emerged from the pitch, shadow-batting without being asked to move on by the curator.Here are some reactions:"GG got abused for exposing those double standards," wrote a fan.You can see the tweet here:Here are some other reactions:"One Pitch Two Countries Two Different Rules That's England for you (sic)," wrote another."Pitch Curator should be neutral likewise umpires and referees.." said another."Wow...Shameful if true. Should formally lodge a complaint. Don't give them an inch," thought a fan."GG exposed these hypocrites!" tweeted a supporter.Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the fifth TestEngland captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the fifth Test due to a shoulder injury. In his place, batter Ollie Pope has been named captain of the side. Stokes was the Player of the Match in both the third and fourth Tests of this series.In the fourth Test, apart from scoring a blistering 141 in England's sole innings, Stokes bowled 35 overs in the two innings that India batted, and was seen clutching his shoulder during various stages of the match, especially in the second innings.England won the first and third Tests of the series, played at Headingley and Lord's, respectively. India won the second Test, played at Edgbaston, and drew the fourth at Old Trafford in Manchester. England currently lead the series 2-1.