ENG vs IND 2025: A different atmosphere was created before the fifth Test of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar series between England and India. During the practice session on the morning of July 29 at the Oval, there was a heated argument between Indian coach Gautam Gambhir and pitch curator Lee Fortis. The dispute started when Fortis asked Team India to stay at a distance from the pitch. Gambhir objected to this, got angry and got into a fight with Fortis.
Surrey's chief groundsman told the team management to stay at least 2.5 meters away while inspecting the pitch. Gambhir reacted sharply to this and even told Fortis that he was "just a groundsman". The matter did not stop there. When Shubman Gill was asked a question on this controversy in the press conference the next day, he defended the coach.
Gill clearly said that he found this entire incident unnecessary. According to him, the team has been in England for two months and has already played four Tests. In all these matches, no curator had imposed any such ban. He also added that the coach and captain have every right to inspect the pitch, and there was nothing unusual in this.
Gill also stated that in the series so far, no curator at Headingley, Edgbaston, Lord's and Old Trafford asked to maintain any such distance. According to him, if the players go near the pitch wearing rubber spikes or barefoot, then there is no problem with it. The Indian captain also said that all the members of the team, the coach and the captain repeatedly go close to the pitch and assess it.
At times, the atmosphere can become heated due to lagging behind in the series, but Gill refused to believe that Gambhir's behaviour was like this due to pressure. He said that the matter was only an unusual rule, which had never come up before.
"What happened yesterday, I thought, was just absolutely unnecessary. It's not the first time that we were having a look at the wicket; we have been there for almost two months. A coach has every right to be able to go close quarters and have a look at the wicket, and I didn't think there was anything wrong with that. I actually don't know why the curator would not allow us to go have a look at the wicket," Gill said in the pre-match press conference.
"As long as I can remember, we have never got any instructions. As long as you are wearing rubber spikes or [are] barefoot you can see the wicket from near. We have played four matches already in this series, and nobody stopped us from watching the pitch. All of us have played so much cricket, we have gone to the pitches so many times, including the coaches and captain, I don't know what the fuss was about," Gill added.
"Not really. If a pitch curator is going to come and ask us to not look at the wicket and look at the wicket from three metres behind, that's not something that has happened to us before. We've been doing cricket for such a long time and as long as you are wearing rubber spikes or are barefoot, you are allowed to look at the wicket from close quarters. That's the job of the coach and the captain," Gill stated.
This debate definitely created some controversy before the Oval Test, but the attitude shown by Gill makes it clear that the team stands with the coach.
