London: India captain Shubman Gill threw his weight behind Gautam Gambhir following his fiery exchange with The Oval’s chief curator Lee Fortis, firmly asserting that the India coach was well within his rights to inspect the square.
During India’s training session on Tuesday, Fortis, according to batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, asked the Indian coaching staff to stay 2.5 metres away from the main pitch square, despite them not wearing spikes, prompting frustration from the visiting camp.
Gambhir was heard saying, “You don’t tell any of us what we need to do… You have no right to tell us. You are just a groundsman, nothing beyond.”
Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak defended Gambhir, saying that Fortis’ tone was harsh and he was overstepping his authority when he tried to refuse the Indian contingent from looking at the pitch. Kotak also hinted that Fortis was known to be a problematic character, saying, “before coming to The Oval, most of the team knew that the curator is not the easiest person to get on with. So that gives lots of answers”.
On Wednesday (July 30), the eve of the fifth Test, India captain Shubman Gill came out in defence of Gambhir too, saying he didn’t understand why Fortis should have refused permission to the Indians to see the pitch from close quarters.
Gill expressed surprise at the curator’s actions, saying it was the first time he had seen in his cricket career. “As long as I remember, there haven’t been any instructions like that,” Gill said. “I don’t know what happened exactly yesterday and why the curator refused us… But we have played four games before this, and nobody refused us permission (to see the pitch). We’ve played so much cricket, and the captain and coach have gone and seen the pitch so many times. I don’t know what the fuss was all about.
“It’s not something that has happened to us before,” Gill added, about being asked to keep a distance from the pitch. “We’ve been playing cricket for such a long time. As long as you’re wearing rubber spikes or you’re barefoot, you’re allowed to look at the wicket from close quarters. That’s the job of the coach and the captain. So I don’t know why the curator didn’t allow us to do that.”
Gill also emphasised that the coach of a team had every right to have a close look at the playing surface, which is the case across the world. “It’s not the first time we’ve been having a look at the pitch. We have been here for almost two months, and like I said, a coach has every right to be able to go and have a look at the pitch from close quarters. I didn’t think that there was anything wrong with that. I don’t know why the curator would not allow us to go and have a look at the pitch.”
The Gambhir and Fortis fracas was the third major flashpoint of this series. In the third Test at Lord’s, India were incensed by what they perceived as time-wasting tactics by England at the end of Day 3 of the third Test, at Lord’s. Gill, and the rest of the team were involved in a heated exchange with Zak Crawley then. Gill later explained his outburst, saying the England batters were 90 seconds late coming to the middle.
Then in the closing moments of the fourth Test, there was another dust-up with Ben Stokes and the England team upset that India didn’t want to shake hands and walk off with a draw when the last hour of play began. Both Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar were in the 80s then, having batted magnificently to take India to safety. India opted to bat on, which they were well within their right to do, till both got to their centuries, which England complained loudly about.
“I think the relations have been fantastic. When you’re on the field, you’re trying to win a game at the end of the day, and both teams have been very competitive,” Gill explained. “Sometimes when you are competitive, in the heat of the moment, you do or say things that you might not (otherwise) do. But I think once the match is over, there is mutual respect between both teams.
“These are three very separate moments, not correlated at all. I have already explained what happened at Lord’s. And even the incident that happened on the last day of the previous Test match, I’ve given my thoughts and opinions on that. And what happened yesterday, I thought it was just absolutely unnecessary.”
