The much-awaited fifth and final Test match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy between England and India is days away, with India led by Shubman Gill trying to draw the five-match series. Having taken an unforgettable draw at Manchester, India is now at a decisive point, and it is natural that the team needs to wrap up the series on a high note. But, as preparations are made for the big showdown at The Oval, tensions boiled over, somewhat surprisingly, on Tuesday afternoon with Gautam Gambhir.
On-ground reports confirmed that the head coach of India, Gautam Gambhir, had a tense altercation with the chief pitch curator of the venue, Lee Fortis. Witnesses accounted that there was finger-pointing and shouting between the men, as the quarrel was intense. According to the reports, the whole incident started when Gambhir showed a lot of displeasure over some matter concerning the preparation of the pitch, but it is not clear what matter he was displeased with.
To make the drama more dramatic, the batting coach of India, Sitanshu Kotak, was also dragged into the debate. Kotak and Fortis had an aggressive conversation that might have been an attempt to negotiate or clear the air. At one time, Gambhir was heard to tell the curator, “You do not tell us what we have to do. We cannot be told by anybody what we must do. You are nothing but a groundsman, be like a groundsman.”
The tussle went so far that Fortis temporarily stumped out to have a chat with Kotak. Nonetheless, Gambhir stood his ground and he kept on expressing his concerns until the situation died down. Both left the company and Gambhir stayed back to conduct the training session for India.
Although details regarding the quarrel are not disclosed, the episode has brought a sense of drama as the series approaches the most important match of the series at The Oval, further emboldening the high-stakes contest.
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