Revealed: Bizarre reason India cricket coach sent furious seven-word tirade at Oval groundsman as tensions flare ahead of final England Test
Mail Sport understands that Fortis was unhappy that members of the Indian dressing-room were pulling their kitbags across the square during their net session. Surrey will have hosted close to 60 days of cricket by the end of the summer, and Fortis was concerned about damage caused by the bags' wheels.
But Gambhir did not take kindly to the request, with Indian media reporting that he told Fortis: 'You don't tell me what to do.'
Fortis, who in 2024 was named ECB groundsman of the year for the third year in succession, was then spoken to in more conciliatory fashion by Indian batting coach Shitanshu Kotak, before being surrounded by Indian journalists asking him for his side of the story.
In a video of the conversation released by RevSportz Global, it is put to Fortis that he called Gambhir 'a touchy guy', though Fortis doesn't engage with the remark. Asked whether he is 'happy' with Gambhir, he replies: 'Am I happy? It's not my job to be happy… You saw what he was like this morning. You'll have to ask him.'
The Times of India reported that Fortis threatened to lodge a complaint against Gambhir, who was said to have responded: 'You can go and report to whoever you want, but you can't tell us what to do.'
VIDEO | Indian team's head coach Gautam Gambhir was seen having verbal spat with chief curator Lee Fortis at The Oval Cricket Ground in London ahead of the last Test match of the series starting Thursday.
After having drawn the fourth Test at Old Trafford, India have a chance… pic.twitter.com/hfjHOg9uPf
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 29, 2025
Gambhir, who has coached India to eight defeats in their last 11 Tests, has a reputation for prickliness that extends back into his playing days, and was outspoken on Sunday evening in Manchester after England objected to India's refusal to accept Ben Stokes's offer of a draw because they wanted Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja to tick off centuries first.
That followed pre-match comments from India captain Shubman Gill, who accused England's openers of not playing according to the spirit of the game on the third evening of the third Test at Lord's. Gill alleged that Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett arrived 90 seconds late at the crease, a charge Crawley denied.
The fifth and final Test starts on Thursday, with England 2-1 up in the series.
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