What happened between Gautam Gambhir and Lee Fortis? India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak explains:

Earlier on Tuesday (July 29), Gautam Gambhir reportedly got into a heated argument with The Oval chief curator Lee Fortis. At that point of time, not much details were available about the nature of the incident. What could be seen was an angry Gambhir gesturing Fortis to back off and it soon escalated with India's security in-charge then having discussions with key staff from the ECB and Surrey club.

 

At the press conference that followed India's net session, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak revealed what exactly transpired between Gambhir and Fortis. It is a historic practice for curators to be defensive when it comes to the pitch they prepare and they usually don't like players to get too close to it, particularly if spikes are being worn. While he is aware of these guidelines as a seasoned pro, Kotak stated that the instructions from Fortis to the Indian team caught him and Gambhir off-guard. The incident took off while Gambhir and Kotak were having a chat while inspecting the pitch for the fifth Test.

 

 

“When we were having a conversation near the pitch. They had sent a man to send a message for us to stay 2.5 m away from the pitch. We were wearing joggers.” said Kotak at the press conference.

 

“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.”

 

Fortis, known historically for having similar incidents with touring teams, didn't seem happy with the Indian side standing so close to the surface. His explanation was that the grass was still being grown and he didn't want any kind of intervention to that process. Moments after the flare up happened, the media present there from RevSportz Global did try to get some info out of Fortis but the Englishman chose not to reveal anything regarding the incident. Kotak feels that The Oval curator has overreacted to the whole episode.

 

“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 it. He said we are trying to grow the grass. End of the day it’s a cricket pitch. We will not be lodging any complaints.”

 

Looking ahead to the team combination for the fifth Test, how India shape their bowling attack will be an interesting thing to watch out for. There are injury concerns, form issues and workload management obstacles to handle. The big question is understandably around Jasprit Bumrah's availability and Kotak opted to play down the question for now, opting instead to sit on the fence.

 

“Bumrah is fit (but) no conversation has been had about his inclusion for the last game.”

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