London: India’s training session two days before the series deciding fifth Test against England became a sideshow as head coach Gautam Gambhir got involved in a heated verbal spat with The Oval’s chief curator Lee Fortis who allegedly asked the visiting team’s support staff to stand 2.5 metres from the pitch.
Gambhir was on Tuesday heard telling Fortis “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” while pointing fingers at the chief curator. In response Fortis was heard saying “I will have to report this.”
In the presence of 10 squad members minus captain Shubman Gill, the training session in the field of play was going on as usual until Gambhir blasted Fortis, who is not the “easiest person to work with” despite winning ECB’s best multi-day pitches award for the last three years.
India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak tried to douse the fire by taking Fortis away from Gambhir, who was visibly angry with the chief curator. Later, Kotak explained what really happened in the middle.
“When we went to take a look at the wicket the coaches were there, someone came to us and said ‘stand 2.5 metres away’, which was little surprising. Day after there is a Test match, we had our joggers on not spike and it felt a bit awkward. I have never seen anything like that in my life.
“The Indian players had told me that he is not the easiest person to work with. Now you all know. It is okay to be protective and possessive about this pitch but not to this extent,” said Kotak.
While the drama was unfolding, the travelling Indian media approached Fortis for his thoughts on the incident but he did not have much to say. “He is a bit tetchy it is a big game this week. You saw what he was like this morning. You have to ask him (what happened),” Fortis said.
Bumrah to play?
Kotak did not rule out Jasprit Bumrah’s participation in the series deciding fifth Test against England, saying “he is fit as per his load.”
Injury-prone pace spearhead Bumrah was earmarked for three Tests on the tour as part of his workload management but with the series on the line, he could play a fourth one.
After a dramatic draw at Manchester, head coach Gambhir also did not rule out the possibility of Bumrah featuring in the crunch game. Kotak reiterated that on Tuesday.
“Bumrah is fit now according to his load. He has bowled one inning in the last match. So that obviously head coach, our physio and captain they will have a discussion and decide. There has been no discussion,” Kotak said two days before the game. At Old Trafford, Gambhir had also confirmed that all his pacers were fit.