With the India vs England Test series on the line, the situation is getting really tense. The match hasn’t even started, and tensions are flaring up already. With Team India currently practicing at the Oval, head coach Gautam Gambhir got into a heated conversation with the chief pitch curator of the Oval Cricket Ground, Lee Fortis.
Gambhir gets into a heated verbal fight
According to The Times of India, the reason behind the conflict was the facilities provided to Team India. Gambhir felt they weren’t adequate. After a disagreement, Gambhir seemingly lost his cool and yelled, “You can’t tell us what to do!”
As the video suggests, Gambhir can be seen pointing his finger multiple times towards Fortis. The Indian head coach can be seen wearing a catching mitt, helping the batters practice. When things got heated, Team India’s batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, took Fortis aside to diffuse the situation.
Both Kotak and Fortis can be seen calmly discussing the matter, while Gambhir distanced himself and was watching a batter in the nets.
Unhappy with Gambhir’s conduct, the ground staff threatened to lodge an official complaint against the Indian head coach. Gambhir didn’t seem to care about it. He retorted, saying, “You can go and report to whoever you want, but you can’t tell us what to do.”
A little while later, members of India’s support staff could be seen talking with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) officials and Surrey Media Manager Adam Sofroniou, discussing the verbal altercation between Gambhir and Fortis.
The Oval curator called Gambhir ‘a bit touchy’ after the whole matter, but didn’t say anything else as to why what led to them arguing and the Indian coach pointing his finger at him.
