Gautam Gambhir, Team India’s head coach, reportedly had a furious conversation with Lee Fortis, the Oval pitch curator, before to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy fifth Test against England. However, the exact reason behind Gambhir’s outburst is now unknown.
The event occurred during India’s practice session at the venue on Tuesday, July 29. The news agency PTI released a video of the verbal spat on the social networking platform X.
In the video, Gautam Gambhir is heard telling the curator:
“You don’t tell us what to do.”
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.
After having drawn the fourth Test at Old Trafford, India have a chance… pic.twitter.com/hfjHOg9uPf
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 29, 2025According to the Times of India, Gambhir and Fortis were separated by India’s batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, and other members of the support staff. Furthermore, the ground personnel at The Oval threatened to file a complaint against the Indian coach following the altercation.
In the meantime, Team India needs to win the 5th Test to level the series of five to two-two. England is winning 2-1 and they will tie or win that first Anderson Tendulkar match.
The crucial game will be held at the Oval at London between July 31 and August 4. Rishabh Pant, the vice-captain of Indian team, will be absent in the game. It has been a nasty blow to the team because the wicketkeeper-batsman is out of the game with a fracture in his foot.
Gautam Gambhir Questions Ben Stokes’ Cold Gesture on Day 5 of ENG vs IND 4th Test
The fourth Test between Australia and India (Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy) was a drawn match with lots of drama in the closing hour of the Day 5. When the game was heading towards a tie, the English captain, Ben Stokes offered to shake hands with the Indian batsmen by suggesting a draw.
But India refused the offer where all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar were on an edge of century. Reacting to the incident, Gautam Gambhir questioned Stokes whether England batters would have walked off had they been in Spectaculars.
During a press conference following the match, the Indian coach stated:
“If someone is batting on 90 [89] and the other one is batting on 85 [80], don’t they deserve a hundred? Would they have walked off if someone in the England side would have been batting on 90 or 85? If someone has the opportunity to get first Test hundred, wouldn’t you allow him to do it? They’ve weathered the storm.
Gautam Gambhir
“If they [England] want to play that way, it’s up to them. I’ve got nothing to do with it. I think both those guys deserved a hundred and fortunately, they got it.”
Gautam Gambhir
Jadeja and Sundar stayed unbeaten at 107 (185 balls) and 101 (206 balls), respectively. Their batting performances were critical in India drawing the match. India finished Day 5 at 425/4 (second innings).
