Lee Fortis and India Team - (Source : @SandipanBanerjee/X.com)
On Tuesday, July 29, India head coach Gautam Gambhir engaged in a verbal altercation with The Oval's chief pitch curator Lee Fortis. Notably, the curator was unhappy with Team India getting close to the wicket and hurled a few comments that didn't go well with Gambhir.
The Indian coach gave a befitting reply and slammed Fortis with a 'Don't tell me what to do' remark. The matter spread like wildfire, and even the assistant coach cleared the air during his presser.
The netizens slammed Lee Fortis for his hypocrisy as he restricted India from getting near the pitch, while pictures of England head coach Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes close to the surface went viral on the internet.
The fans slammed Oval's pitch curator for bias towards India. In the latest events, Fortis is back at it again, as reports suggest that the tall guy again caused a hindrance to India's final training session before the fifth Test.
Lee Ask Throw Specialists To Move Aside
On the eve of the fifth Test, Lee Fortis kept a note of India's training session and was seen having an intense chat with the throwdown specialists.
Fortis engaged in a chat with Nuwan, one of the throw specialists, and the two had a long conversation where the chief curator was certainly unhappy regarding something.
Gautam Gambhir, Gill Asked To Step Aside
It was not all as the big man met Gambhir again on Wednesday, where the head coach, alongside captain Shubman Gill, were discussing team plans near the pitch, which is when Fortis approached the cricketers and asked them to step aside.
Lee reportedly didn't want the green top near the square to be disturbed. The incident could also have escalated, but the head coach and captain obliged the request and stepped aside without saying anything.
Sai Sudharsan Asked To Step Aside
Sai Sudharsan, who made a return to the Test set-up in the fourth match, has a ritual of shadow practising his batting near the pitch a day prior to the match.
Like other days, Sai also followed the same at Ovals, but according to Abhishek Tripathi, the southpaw was asked to step aside by the chief curator.
