Two days before India face England in the final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval, head coach Gautam Gambhir found himself in the middle of an unexpected turf war, quite literally.
The fiery former opener, who has brought no-nonsense energy to his new role as Team India’s red-ball boss, was seen in a heated exchange with The Oval’s head curator Lee Fortis during India’s first training session in London on Tuesday.
Eyewitnesses and now-viral videos suggest Gambhir lost his cool over the practice pitches provided to the visiting side.
"You can't tell us what to do. You're just one of the groundsmen, nothing beyond," Gambhir was heard shouting, jabbing a finger in Fortis’s direction, multiple media reports stated.
“You go and report whatever you want to report,” he added, as the argument escalated. Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak quickly intervened, pulling the two men apart and assuring the ground staff, “We won’t damage anything.”
As per the reports, while the exact trigger remains unclear, the spat stemmed from disagreements over pitch conditions for the practice session. Fortis had reportedly told Gambhir he would be forced to report the incident, to which the India coach doubled down, unrelenting in his response.
India had arrived in London on Monday, buoyed by a gritty draw in Manchester, where Shubman Gill’s 188-run stand with KL Rahul and a 203-run unbeaten partnership between Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja stonewalled England’s victory push.
In Manchester, Gambhir had offered a robust defence of Gill’s leadership amid chatter questioning the young captain’s credentials. “Some people just don’t understand cricket,” Gambhir said, backing Gill to carve out his own legacy with four centuries already in the series.
The Oval spat, however, has thrown an unexpected spotlight on Gambhir’s fiery temperament. While Fortis later dismissed the incident as the result of “a big game” and “touchiness,” reports suggest the groundstaff are contemplating lodging an official complaint against the India head coach.
Meanwhile, it was business as usual for the rest of the team. Sai Sudharsan, who impressed in the last Test, was first to arrive for training. Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh, too, put in serious sessions under the eyes of bowling coach Morne Morkel and assistant Ryan ten Doeschate.
