Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Thursday said he couldn’t make sense of head coach Gautam Gambhir’s reaction after Lee Fortis, Surrey’s head groundsman, stopped the Indian team from closely inspecting The Oval pitch during Tuesday’s practice ahead of the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series.
Ganguly, speaking to reporters in Kolkata, said he was baffled by Gambhir’s outburst and urged everyone not to exaggerate the incident.
“I really don’t know why Gambhir was upset. I’m sure all coaches and captains have discussions with the groundsmen — sometimes happily, sometimes unhappily. It’s happened in my time, it’s going to happen in future also. So let’s not just make too much out of it. I wish India play well, win the Test and level the series,” he said.
What had happened between Gambhir and Fortis?
On Tuesday, Gambhir and batting coach Sitanshu Kotak were inspecting the central square at The Oval when Surrey’s head groundsman, Fortis, stopped them from getting too close to the pitch. Concerned about heavy footfall on the surface, Fortis asked the Indian contingent to maintain a distance of at least 2.5 metres from the playing area, a request that did not sit well with Gambhir.
In a video that later went viral on social media, Gambhir was seen wagging his finger at Fortis while walking aggressively toward him. A subsequent report by ESPNcricinfo detailed the tense exchange, with Gambhir allegedly telling Fortis that he was “just a groundsman,” while the latter, in response, warned the former India opener that he would report him to the ICC match referee if he continued to swear.
Speaking to reporters later that evening in London, Kotak admitted it felt “awkward” when team members were asked to maintain distance from the pitch despite not wearing spikes.
“When some of us coaches went to see the wicket, a member of the groundstaff said stay away at least 2.5 metres, which was a little surprising,” Kotak said. “Because it is the pitch, the match is starting day after, it will be a five-day Test, and we’re standing in our joggers, so we felt a little awkward.”
The batting coach, however, refrained from dwelling much on the spat between Gambhir and Fortis. “[We were] just looking at the wicket, with rubber spikes, day after there’s a Test match there, there’s nothing wrong [with that]. Curators also need to understand the people they are talking to, they are highly skilled and intelligent. For example, if you go on the ground now where we practised, you won’t even see that any bowler in the outfield would have marked with his spikes. That all comes from the head coach. We try and see this ground also doesn’t get damaged.”