IND vs ENG 5th Test: Gautam Gambhir clashes with Oval curator, Team India alleges unfair treatment over pitch access

Time of India

6 days ago

London:
The growing animosity between India and England, it seems, is not limited to just the players. On Tuesday, two days ahead of the crucial fifth and final Test here, India head coach
Gautam Gambhir
had a heated alteraction with Oval chief curator Lee Fortis, with the team management later accusing the curator of being rude and unfair.
The spat between the two, caught on camera, happened during India's optional training session, with Gambhir seen pointing fingers at Fortis and saying, 'You are just a groundsman. You don't tell us what we can do.' The altercation continued for a good four-five minutes, with Gambhir's voice echoing around the Oval. 'You shouldn't have used that word. You can't talk like that,' Gambhir kept repeating to Fortis.
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Officials present at the ground calmed things down.
It may be noted that Fortis has been awarded the best curator by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for the last three years.
India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak claimed that Fortis had asked the Indian team management to step away from the pitch to be used for the Test and not allowed them to have a good look at the surface.
'Gautam, I and the other coaches were having a look at the pitch. He (Fortis) sent someone to inform us that we should stand away from the pitch, which was surprising.
We have all played cricket and we know that the curators can get overprotective with the square.
IND vs ENG: The Oval curator breaks silence on Gautam Gambhir's outburst ahead of 5th Test
'But there's nothing wrong in looking at the pitch two days before the game and we had our rubber shoes on,' Kotak said after the practice session.
Gambhir lost his cool when Fortis behaved rudely with members of the support staff who were bringing the watercooling box. 'When the support staff was getting the cooling box, which is about just 10 kg, on the ground, the curator shouted at them.
That's when Gautam confronted him and told him he can't talk to the support staff like that,' Kotak said.
According to Kotak, the coaching staff was asked to move another 2.5 metres further away and have a look at the pitch from beyond the cordon. Interestingly, England head coach Brendon McCullum and England team's managing director Rob Key arrived in informal attire, with leather shoes on, and were seen spending a considerable amount of time on the pitch to be used for the Test.
'They (McCullum and Key) were not told anything in front of us,' Kotak claimed.
Surrey county didn't want to give an official version but sources said that the groundsman was only protecting the square, which has seen an enormous volume of cricket being played this season.
IND vs ENG: Gautam Gambhir loses cool during heated exchange with ground staff at The Oval ahead of 5th Test
Before the Indian team management addressed the media, Fortis was asked to present his side of the story. 'You people saw what happened. It's a big game.
It's okay if he is a bit tetchy. I don't know him as well. I don't know what got him animated. You have to ask him,' was Fortis's response.
'That's Fortis's opinion (about Gambhir) and everyone in this world has their opinions. Curators also need to understand that the people they are talking to are highly skilled and intelligent people. If you go to the ground now, where we trained, you won't even see the bowlers marking their runups with their spikes.
We also see to it that the ground is not damaged,' Kotak said.
'If you sound a bit arrogant when you are working with very intelligent and highly skilled people, you have to know it's just a cricket pitch at the end of the day.
It's not an antique that you can't touch,' he added. 'He said that we are trying to get this grass. I don't know how much grass will grow in one day. You want your ground and square to be good but it's just a cricket pitch.'
Poll
Who do you think is at fault in the altercation between Gautam Gambhir and Lee Fortis?
Gautam Gambhir
Lee Fortis
Both equally
Neither, it's a misunderstanding
Throughout this series, the Indian team management has been seen standing on the match pitch two days before each Test. It never appeared to be a problem for the curators at those venues. 'We understand the curators are possessive. Wherever we have gone in this series, we even had conversations with curators about how they were preparing the pitch or how much grass they were planning to leave for the match. If any curator had issues divulging that detail, they would politely tell us that we will get to see (the pitch) on the morning of the match,' Kotak said.
Kotak, however, said the team management didn't plan to lodge a formal complaint. On his impression of the pitch, Kotak said, 'There is grass on the wicket. There was less grass in Manchester. This is like what we got at the rest of the venues. There is some moisture. They say that normally the bounce is good. There will be some early movement.'
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