India coach Gautam Gambhir was spotted having a row with the Oval groundsman ahead of the final Test against England later this week. The series is finely poised heading into the fifth Test, with England boasting a 2-1 lead over India.
The teams played out a fiery draw at Old Trafford over the weekend, with tensions boiling over between the two sets of players. And it appears ahead of this week’s decider that the Indian coaching staff are also starting to feel the pressure, with Gambhir having some choice words for the Oval’s groundsman.
A video circulating on social media, taken during an India training session, showed Gambhir deep in conversation with Lee Fortis. It’s claimed by ESPNcricinfo Fortis was unhappy with India using the majority of the main square for their training session – a disagreement which led to the spat.
Gambhir, who played 58 Tests for India, can be heard saying: “You can go and report to whoever you want, but you can’t tell us what to do.” Things continued to get heated, with the India coach continuing: “You don’t tell us what to do, you’re just a groundsman. You’re just a groundsman… nothing beyond that.”
Fortis was later quizzed on the incident by the Indian press pack, with the Oval groundsman saying: “There’s quite a big game coming up isn’t there? I don’t know the man [Gambhir], I’ve never met him before today.”
The Indian press pack continued to press Fortis for a comment, but the groundsman remained calm. While being pressed for a reaction, he continued: “You saw what he was like this morning. There’s no sides to the story… We’ve nothing to hide here… I don’t want to be rude.”
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