Explained: What exactly happened between Gautam Gambhir and Oval chief curator Lee Fortis?

As the fifth and final Test between England and India is scheduled to start on Thursday, July 31, a new controversy emerged involving the Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir and Oval chief curator Lee Fortis on Tuesday, July 29.

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Moving into the details of the incident, Fortis allegedly instructed Team India support staff members to maintain a distance of 2.5m from the pitch during their inspection. However, this didn’t go down well with Gambhir, who was also part of the group.

"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,” Gambhir yelled at Fortis.

Fortis responded by saying, "I will have to report this."

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It’s important to note that Fortis has overseen pitches at The Oval for several years and has received accolades and awards from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for his work throughout the years.

Close to 10 Indian players, along with support staff, were also present during the whole episode. It’s worth noting that the support staff were wearing joggers instead of spikes, which shouldn’t be an issue.

Team India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, who was also present during the whole episode, addressed the media ahead of the start of the final Test, stating what exactly happened between Gambhir and Fortis.

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"When we went to have a look at the wicket, someone came up and told us to stand 2.5 metres away. That was surprising, to say the least. We weren't wearing spikes. There are still two days to go before the match. I've never seen anything like it in my life,” Kotak said.

Interestingly, a few hours later, an old picture of Fortis standing with England head coach Brendon McCullum on the pitch days before an Ashes Test went viral on X (Formerly Twitter), highlighting the double standards of the groundsman.

https://x.com/ImTanujSingh/status/1950195006502748171 

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