Gautam Gambhir Rips Into The Oval Curator Ahead Of 5th Test
Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir had a heated argument with Lee Fortis, the head groundsman at The Oval. India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said the Indian team will not be filing any complaint.
Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir had a heated argument with Lee Fortis, the head groundsman at The Oval, the London ground which is set to host the final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy from Thursday. According to reports in the media, Gambhir told the curator, ‘You don’t tell us what to do’ over an incident, while batting coach Sitanshu Kotak also stepped in to have a word with Fortis.
The video is from India’s optional practice session ahead of the Test. Gambhir is also heard saying, ‘F*** off, go report whatever you want… You are only a groundsman. The latter line is repeated regularly in the video, with a lot of finger-pointing.
The series has gotten progressively heated over the past couple of weeks. Most recently, in the last Test at Old Trafford, Ben Stokes’ offer of a draw to Raindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar created a huge controversy and another ‘Spirit of Cricket’ debate, which is likely to eke out to London.
The Test was ultimately drawn, and England still led the series 2-1. India has a chance to level it and go home with some pride of not losing away, and Gambhir is under pressure, having seen only four wins in 14 Tests so far. The coach gave a war cry to his team in the lead-up, too.
Meanwhile, India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said the altercation took place after the visitors were asked to stand "2.5 metres from the wicket". However, he said the Indian team will not be filing any complaint. “Honestly, one of the ground staff came and said (that we were required to) stand 2.5 metres from the wicket and 'go outside the rope and see the wicket'. I have never seen something like that,” Kotak told the media later. “No complaint is needed for this,” he added.
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