Shubman Gill defended Indian coach Gautam Gambhir following a heated disagreement with pitch curator Lee Fortis at The Oval on Tuesday, July 29, after a training session. Fortis was not pleased with the Indian team management inspecting the ground before of the fifth and final Test against England, which begins on Thursday, July 31.
The Surrey head groundsman asked India to stand 2.5 metres away from the pitch while assessing it. An enraged Gautam Gambhir was seen pointing a finger at Fortis and told him that he is “just a groundsman”.
“What happened yesterday, I thought was just absolutely unnecessary. It’s not the first time that we were having a look at the wicket, we have been there for almost two months. A coach has every right to be able to go close quarters and have a look at the wicket and I didn’t think there was anything wrong with that. I actually don’t know why the curator would not allow us to go have a look at the wicket,” Gill said in the pre-match press conference.
Gill remembered that no other curator at the series’ prior venues – Headingley, Edgbaston, Lord’s, and Old Trafford – had restricted India’s view of the pitch or square.
“As long as I remember, we had never got any instructions. As long as you are wearing rubber spikes or [are] barefoot you can see the wicket from near. We have played four matches already in this series, and nobody stopped us from watching the pitch. All of us have played so much cricket, we have gone to the pitches so many times, including the coaches and captain, I don’t know what the fuss was about.”
Shubman Gill
When a team is trailing in a series, players and managers can quickly lose their cool. Gill was questioned if Gambhir’s passionate reaction was because he was 1-2 down in the five-match series and under pressure. However, the Punjab batsman refuted this.
“Not really. If a pitch curator is going to come and ask us to not look at the wicket and look at the wicket from three metres behind, that’s not something that has happened to us before. We’ve been doing cricket for such a long time and as long as you are wearing rubber spikes or are barefoot, you are allowed to look at the wicket from close quarters. That’s the job of the coach and the captain.”
Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill Opens Up on His Relationship With England Players
During the first four Test matches, the Indian players had some heated disagreements with their English counterparts. In the most recent match, England captain Ben Stokes was furious after Ravindra Jadeja refused a handshake and continued batting until he and Washington Sundar reached centuries.
Despite the heated exchanges, Gill stated that the friendship between the two teams is wonderful, but they don’t give each other an inch on the field.
“The relation is fantastic, but when you are on the field, you are trying to win a game at the end of the day, and both the teams have been very competitive and sometimes when you are competitive in the heat of the moment, you do or say things that you might not do,” he said. “But once the match is over, there is mutual respect between both teams.”
Shubman Gill
