India coach Gautam Gambhir was involved in a finger-wagging spat with Surrey head groundsman Lee Fortis this morning as tensions from an ill-tempered final day in Manchester spilled over at The Oval.
Mail Sport understands that Fortis was unhappy that members of the Indian dressing-room were using parts of the main square he was keen to protect, as well pulling their equipment across it 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 boots and 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.’
India coach Gautam Gambhir was involved in a finger-wagging spat with Surrey head groundsman Lee Fortis, centre, on Tuesday morning
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
India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak claimed Fortis ‘is not the easiest person to deal with’ but said they will not be lodging any complaints
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.’
Kotak later said: ‘They had sent a man to send a message for us to stay 2.5 metres away from the pitch. We were wearing joggers. We know curators are possessive about the square. What he said about the head coach is his opinion, and I don’t want to comment. We did nothing wrong; we were wearing rubber spikes.
‘People are highly skilled and intelligent. None of the bowlers were even wearing spikes. You can be protective but not arrogant. It is not an antique that you can’t touch. He said we are trying to grow the grass. At the end of the day, it’s a cricket pitch.
‘The curator yelled at the support staff when they were getting the icebox. Gambhir said he couldn’t talk like that. Everyone knows the curator at The Oval is not the easiest person to deal with. We will not be lodging any complaints.’
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.