Gautam Gambhir vs Oval pitch curator: Real reason why both men had heated argument

The real reason behind Gautam Gambhir’s spat with Oval pitch curator Lee Fortis has been revealed, with the latter giving his thoughts on the incident, which took place on Tuesday, July 29.

Gambhir had a war of words with the pitch curator (PTI photo)

The biggest news to come out of London heading into the fifth and final Test between England and India was the verbal spat between coach Gautam Gambhir and the Oval pitch curator Lee Fortis. Both men were seen going at it in a war of words on Tuesday, July 29, with Gambhir heard having some strong words to tell to Fortis.

The India head coach was heard telling Lee Fortis: “You are just a groundsman here.” As the fight continued, Gambhir told Fortis to “go, report whatever you want to report, you are only a groundsman.” Gambhir also threw up a couple of expletives as well.

Later, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak came in and took the curator away and had a discussion with him, even as Gambhir was still arguing with Fortis from far away. The real reason for the altercation has been revealed now to India Today. The curator was unhappy with the fact that the Indians were doing throw-downs on the square area and objected to it. That was when Gambhir lost his cool and started arguing with the groundsman.

Fortis reacts to bust-up with Gambhir

Fortis interacted with the media and tried to play down the incident. The Oval curator said that he had never met Gambhir before Tuesday as the reporters tried to press and ask him about what had transpired on the day.

“It is quite a big game coming up. It is not my job to be happy with him (Gautam Gambhir) or not. I have never met him before today. You saw what he was like this morning,” said Fortis.

When asked why Gambhir was so animated, Fortis told the reporters to ask him the question themselves. The Oval curator claimed that he was fine and said that there was nothing to hide.

It’s okay, I am fine. We have nothing to hide,” said Fortis.

As the reporters kept pressing for an answer, Fortis decided to cut short the interview and leave, saying that he didn’t want to be rude.

“I don’t want to be rude, but you’re not asking anything. You’re just, you’re not asking anything,” said Fortis.

INDIA BATTING COACH EXPLAINS THE INCIDENT

“I think when we went to see the wicket, the coaches were there and they sent a man who said, ‘Stay 2.5 meters away from here’. It was a bit awkward as we were in our joggers,” The India batting coach said during the press conference.

“We all have been on the ground enough and played so much cricket, and we all know that curators are a little overprotective and possessive about the squares and the ground. So what he said about the head coach, I don’t want to comment because that’s his opinion, and everyone in this world has their opinions. But looking at the wicket with just rubber spikes, there’s nothing wrong. Curators need to understand that the people they are talking to are highly skilled and intelligent people.

“So, for example, if you go on the ground now where we practised, you won’t even see that any bowlers in the outfield would have marked with spikes. So we keep a spray and that all comes from the head coach that we’ll try and see that this ground also should not get damaged,” he added.

Kotak further said the Indian support staff has “intelligent and highly skilled people” who know how to respect the ground and wicket before any match, and curators need to understand this.

“So when you are working with very intelligent and highly skilled people, if you sound a bit arrogant or if you come across like, you know, you can be protective, but at the end of the day, it’s a cricket pitch. It’s not an antique where you can’t touch because otherwise it’s 200 years old, and it can be broken, you know.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cricket/story/england-vs-india-gautam-gambhir-oval-pitch-curator-fight-controversy-london-2763097-2025-07-29