Gautam Gambhir: Indian batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has opened on head coach Gautam Gambhir’s spat with The Oval’s pitch curator Lee Fortis. Kotak revealed that Fortis asked India’s coaches to stand 2.5m away from the wicket and also yelled at the Indian support staff, which irked Gambhir.
Gautam Gambhir: A massive controversy erupted on the eve of the fifth Test between India and England at The Oval, which starts on Thursday, July 31. A video went viral on social media in which Gambhir was seen having a heated argument with Fortis.
Gautam Gambhir: At a press conference on Tuesday, Kotak was asked about what exactly transpired between Gambhir and Fortis. The Indian head coach explained:
Gautam Gambhir: “When we went to see the wicket, the coaches were standing over there. He [Fortis] sent a person over there and asked us to step 2.5m away, which was a little surprising. It’s a cricket wicket, a five-day Test is going to take place and we were wearing joggers.
Gautam Gambhir: “Curator yelled at support staff when they were getting ice box. Gambhir objected at that. The way he spoke irked Gambhir. Everyone knows curator at The Oval is not the easiest person to deal with,” he went on to add.
VIDEO | Indian team's head coach Gautam Gambhir was seen having verbal spat with chief curator Lee Fortis at The Oval Cricket Ground in London ahead of the last Test match of the series starting Thursday.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 29, 2025
After having drawn the fourth Test at Old Trafford, India have a chance… pic.twitter.com/hfjHOg9uPf
The 52-year-old went on to add that while curators are bound to be over-protective, they must also understand that they are dealing with intellectual people, who have played a lot of cricket. He elaborated:
“We all have been on the ground enough, have played so much cricket. We all know that curators are little over-protective or possessive about the square and ground and all. What he said about head coach, I don’t really want to comment. That’s his opinion and everyone in this world has their opinions.
“Just looking at the wicket with rubber spikes, there is nothing wrong there. The curators also need to understand that the people they are talking to are highly skilled and intelligent people. It’s a cricket pitch, not an antique which you cannot touch, which is 200 years old and can be broken. Maybe he is thinking that we are trying to grow some grass, that’s what he felt,” Kotak quipped.
🚨BREAKING: The Oval Ground Staff, Lee Fortis tries to play down the spat and says,”Gambhir is a touchy guy.”@debasissen @ThumsUpOfficial #ENGvsIND #GautamGambhir pic.twitter.com/pFMif7SIUH
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) July 29, 2025
The Indian batting coach, however, clarified that India is not going to lodge any official complaint against the curator over the matter.
Gautam Gambhir: What The Oval’s pitch curator said about his argument with Gambhir
Earlier, The Oval curator defended himself over the controversy and termed the Indian head coach a ‘bit touchy’. Speaking to reporters while sharing his version of events, Fortis said:
“You saw what he was like this morning. He’s a bit touchy! There’s no side of the story. You’ll have to ask him that. I’m okay we’ve have got nothing to hide here.”
Meanwhile, England are 2-1 up in the five-match Test series. India will need to win the last Test at The Oval to level the series.
