As the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy hangs in the balance with the final Test at The Oval only two days away, an aggressive altercation has unexpectedly grabbed the spotlight. Two days ahead of the match, as the Indian team practiced at the venue, Gautam Gambhir was seen exchanging some heated words with the head groundsman Lee Fortis.
Roughly an hour into a focused net session, an animated exchange caught the eye of those at the stadium. Gambhir seemed to have a spirited disagreement with the curator. The Indian head coach was gesturing excitedly and had reportedly said: “I know my job, don’t tell me what to do.”
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The incident is believed to have transpired after Gambhir was allegedly prevented from approaching the pitch, which then prompted a strong reaction from the head coach. The Indian camp addressed the matter in the press conference a while later.
Sitanshu Kotak, India’s batting coach, presented India’s side of the story. He explained that the Indian coaching staff were only trying to take a look at the wicket when one of the groundsmen asked them to take a look from outside the ropes that had contained the square and the pitch.
“When we were having a look at the wicket, they had sent a man with a message for us to stay 2.5m away from the pitch,” said Kotak. “We were wearing joggers [running shoes].”
Reports also said that Fortis has a history of similar incidents with overseas teams. Following the altercation, many in the Indian media had a conversation with Fortis, who claimed that Gambhir was “touchy”. He was also heard asking the mediapersons if Gambhir was a “good person”.
When told about Gambhir being called “touchy” by the curator, Kotak replied: “We know curators are possessive about the square. What he (head groundsman) said about the head coach is his opinion, and I don’t want to comment. We did nothing wrong.
“People (the coaching staff) are highly skilled and intelligent. None of the bowlers were even wearing spikes. You can be protective about the square, but not arrogant. It is not an antique that you can’t touch. He said we are trying to grow the grass, but we were wearing joggers so we didn’t see the problem.”
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