Indian cricket team head coach, was involved in a heated spat with Lee Fortis, the chief curator of The Oval, on Tuesday, two days before the venue hosts the final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The video of the clash has gone viral on social media. While it was not clear why the two got into an argument, Gambhir and Fortis appeared to be arguing over the conditions of the pitches for practice. Batting coach Kotak then intervened and took Fortis to one corner of the practice arena and had a lengthy discussion with him. Fortis and Gambhir then went their separate ways, with the India coach returning to oversee the net session.
“You don’t tell us what we need to do,” Gambhir told the curator, according to news agency PTI.
According to a report in TOI, The Oval’s ground staff threatened to lodge a complaint against Gautam Gambhir. Undeterred, Gambhir replied: “You can go and report to whoever you want, but you can’t tell us what to do!”
Despite the confrontation at the nets, Gambhir remained focused on the task ahead. Speaking at the event, he acknowledged the high stakes of the final Test: “Both teams have thrown a lot of punches and have fought for every inch. We have got one more week to go, one final push to make and one more opportunity to make our country and people out here proud.”
Tensions have simmered throughout the series, spilling over on multiple occasions. It began at Lord’s, where Shubman Gill visibly expressed his displeasure at England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett arriving nearly 90 seconds late for their second innings.
