Team India Head Coach Gautam Gambhir got into a heated argument with pitch curator Lee Fortis at The Oval in London. A video of the incident was shared by PTI.
The 5th and final Test between England and India will start on July 31. India are trailing the series 1-2. The verbal spat happened while Indian players were practising at the net.
According to a Hindustan Times reporter present at the cricket ground, Gambhir seemed angry and pointed fingers during the spat. Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak also joined the conversation and spoke strongly to Fortis. The reason for their anger is unclear. However, tensions were seemingly quite high.
Fortis kept observing the Indian players practising at the net. There was clearly some comment came from the curator that infuriated India’s Head Coach.
According to The Times of India, the ground staff at The Oval threatened to file a complaint against Gambhir.
“Go report whatever you want, f**k off!” Gambhir said while ornamenting his warning with cuss words.
“You don’t tell me what to do. You don’t tell us what to do. You don’t need to tell any of us what to do,” Gambhir said shortly after.
“You’re just a groundsman. Nothing beyond that. You’re just a groundsman,” he told Fortis.
Social media reaction
Social media users reacted to the incident. Many of them supported Gautam Gambhir.
One of them wrote, “Standing up for one’s own people is an act of bravery…. That what GG is all about.”
“That guy Lee Fortis is known for spats against visiting teams. I have been noticing this for long,” wrote one of them.
“They will make the pitch seamers-friendly as we do spin-friendly in India. Everything is fair. That’s why winning in an away series gives you more pleasure,” came from another.
(This is a developing story. Check back for more details.)
Eng vs Ind, Gautam Gambhir, The Oval
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