Last Updated:
There has been another controversy in India’s ongoing England tour with Gautam Gambhir clashing with Surrey’s head of ground staff.
Gautam Gambhir (second from right) was within his rights to inspect the pitch feels Irfan Pathan (right). (PTI/Irfan Pathan)
India head coach Gautam Gambhir was involved in a heated confrontation with the head of Surrey ground staff Lee Fortis during his team’s training session at The Oval ahead of the fifth Test against England that starts from Thursday. According to India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, Gambhir took exception at being told to stay 2.5 meters away while he was inspecting the pitch on which the final match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy will be played.
Coaches and captains generally take a look at the pitch in the days leading up to a Test to fine-tune their plans and team combinations. Irfan Pathan has questioned why an English coach is allowed to stand on the pitch but not an Indian.
“So an English coach can walk onto the pitch to inspect it? but an Indian coach can’t? Are we still stuck in the colonial era?” Pathan posted on X (formerly Twitter).
So an English coach can walk onto the pitch to inspect it? but an Indian coach can’t? Are we still stuck in the colonial era?— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) July 29, 2025
In a video on his YouTube channel, Pathan explained the “unnecessary controversy” which he feels has been created to take the focus away from India’s performance.
Pathan said Gambhir was wearing shoes with rubber-spikes while inspecting which doesn’t impact the pitch as opposed to steel-spikes.
“This curator has a history of being rude,” Pathan said. “There are several instances of him being behaving in such a way with overseas teams’ captains and coaches. This isn’t the first time. The process of Gambhir being villainised has been going on in the media for a long time now.”
“We end up laying red carpet for the visiting teams in India. When we go overseas, we follow the rules and it’s something nobody should have a problem with. There’s a photo on Twitter of the same curator standing with Brendon McCullum (England coach) on the same pitch two days before a match. Gambhir also went two days before. How can you then deny him? England’s coach is allowed but not Indian. It feels we are still living in the 1947 era. I cannot accept this (double-standard).
“If you won’t get to inspect the pitch, how will you plan for the game? You have to get a feel of the pitch by touching it – how hard it is, is there moisture in it? You can’t have that by staring from 2.5 meters. This was an unnecessary controversy,” he added.
Why Gambhir Lashed Out At Curator?
Kotak, during a media interaction revealed what triggered Gambhir’s rant.
Incredible footage of a furious Gautam Gambhir involved in a heated exchange with head groundsman of The Oval ahead of 5th Test between India and England pic.twitter.com/QDW7wcwfZW— News18 CricketNext (@cricketnext) July 29, 2025
“When we were standing on the wicket looking at it, one of the ground staff came and said to stand two and half metres away from here. In my cricketing career I have never seen anybody saying that,” said Kotak.
“Literally he was saying that ‘you can go outside the rope’ to the head coach and see the wicket. I don’t know how you can see. If someone was brushing their shoes, or somebody is trying to put something on the wicket or somebody wearing spikes – if the curator feels that then fine – but it was a very strange way of saying it.
“Curators are a little over-protective or possessive about the square and the ground. [They] need to understand that the people they are talking to are highly skilled and intelligent people. When you are working with very intelligent and highly skilled people, if you sound a bit arrogant, you can be protective – but at the end of the day it’s a cricket pitch. It’s not an antique that you can’t touch because it’s 200 years old and it can be broken. That’s what I feel,” he added.
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience in digital…Read More
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience in digital… Read More
view comments
- First Published:
Read More
