India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has played down the fiery exchange between opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sri Lanka paceman Asitha Fernando on Day 1 of the Colombo Test, describing it as a “heat of the moment” clash that should not overshadow a hard day of Test cricket.

The flashpoint came in the morning session after Fernando had dismissed Jaiswal, who had earlier smashed three fours in the over. As Jaiswal began to walk off, the Sri Lankan pacer celebrated with his teammates and appeared to give the Indian opener a send-off. Whatever words were exchanged triggered the young batter, who turned around and walked back towards the bowler to confront him. The situation nearly escalated into a clash of heads before Sri Lankan fielders intervened and diffused the tension, sending Jaiswal on his way.

Coaches urge calm

India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak downplayed the confrontation, saying it was born out of the intensity of the contest rather than any deep-seated animosity.

“I think the bowler commented something and it happened in the heat of moment. Obviously Yashasvi shouldn’t have gone so close to him but it happened in the heat of the moment,” Kotak said.

Sri Lanka's fast bowling coach, Ryan van Niekerk, struck a similar note, putting the incident down to an “overflow of emotions” in a hard-fought contest.

“Look it is hard Test cricket, isn’t it? When you’re coming up against a team like India, you can’t sit on the back foot and just bowl at them. I think from our side, it’s bringing the challenge all the time, trying to make sure we can create something,” van Niekerk said.

“And so, from my point of view, I’ve really asked the bowlers to stand up and create something. The verbals are probably an overflow of emotion. I’ll leave that to the match referee to deal with,” he added.

Match referee to step in?

The coaches may be willing to move on, but ICC match referee Andy Pycroft might not view the incident as lightly. The ICC have a system of punishment for send-offs, and if video evidence points to inappropriate physical contact between the two players, sanctions could follow.