LONDON, UK — Only two days before the highly anticipated fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, a heated argument broke out on Tuesday, at The Oval. Gautam Gambhir, India’s head coach, and Lee Fortis, The Oval’s chief curator, got into a heated argument that India’s batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, had to step in to calm down.
Videos of the fight, which are currently all over social media, show what happened during India’s first drill at the historic site. Witnesses and a PTI article say that the quarrel seemed to be caused by Fortis’s “overprotective” attitude toward the main pitch and some practice areas.
Fortis was heard saying, “It’s a big game, and he (Gambhir) is a bit touchy,” as he walked away from the fight. But when Indian reporters later asked him on video to clarify what he had said, he refused to speak. Fortis said, “No, I don’t want to say anything.” “Isn’t it a pretty big game coming up?” He also said, “It’s not my job to be happy or not with him,” and said he had never met Gambhir before, so he wouldn’t say anything about his temper. “You saw how he was this morning.” You saw it.
When asked what started the fight, Fortis said, “I don’t know.” You need to ask him about it.
What Started the Fight?
After practice, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak talked about what happened during the press conference. “When we were staring at the pitch, they dispatched a man to tell us to stay 2.5 meters away from it. This was a bit of a shock. We were in joggers. Kotak said, “It was very awkward.” He said that Gambhir was annoyed with the curator’s treatment of the Indian support personnel, which included shouting at them when they were getting an ice box.
Witnesses said that the fight got worse when Fortis went up to Gambhir and said, “I will have to report this.” This was probably because the team was too close or using a certain portion of the pitch. Gambhir, who seemed angry, yelled back, “You go and report whatever you want to report.”
The conversation got more tense, and Gambhir is said to have pointed to the ground staff and said, “You can’t tell us what to do.” You are merely one of the groundskeepers, nothing more. People also heard him say, “You don’t tell us what to do.”
Sitanshu Kotak swiftly rushed in and pulled Fortis aside, trying to calm him down by saying, “We won’t hurt anything.” Ryan ten Doeschate, the bowling coach, and Morne Morkel, the assistant coach, were also there when the argument got heated.
Kotak said, “We know that curators are a little too protective and possessive about the square and the ground.” He did, however, stress that curators need to know that they are working with “very skilled and smart people.” He went on to say, “When you’re working with really smart and skilled people, you can be protective if you sound a little arrogant or if you act like you know what you’re doing. But at the end of the day, it’s a cricket pitch, not an antique that you can’t touch because it’s 200 years old and it will break.”
In the end, both Gambhir and Fortis left the fight, and the Indian coach went back to watch the nets session. Neither the BCCI nor the ECB has made an official comment about what happened.
#WATCH | London, UK: Lee Fortis, Oval Pitch Curator says, "It is quite a big game coming up. It is not my job to be happy with him (Gautam Gambhir) or not. I have never met him before today. You saw what he was like this morning. It's okay, I am fine. We have nothing to hide…" https://t.co/3K5jjnpTiw pic.twitter.com/FQ8LuDYjQM
— ANI (@ANI) July 29, 2025
After India’s tough comeback and draw in the fourth Test in Manchester, the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series is now 2-1 in England’s favor. With the stakes very high and the pressure building before the last game, this heated discussion has just made the excitement around what should be a thrilling series finale even more intense.