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"Chased Him Out": Gambhir's Decade-Old Rift With Delhi Pitch Curator Resurfaces

Akshita Patel

Gautam Gambhir in fight with Lee Fortis [Source: @IANS/X.com]Gautam Gambhir in fight with Lee Fortis [Source: @IANS/X.com]

Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir had a heated argument with The Oval’s pitch curator, Lee Fortis, ahead of the fifth and final Test against England. The incident brought back memories of a similar clash more than a decade ago, proving that Gambhir hasn’t changed when it comes to demanding fair playing conditions.

According to reports, the recent argument occurred during Team India’s practice session at The Oval. Gambhir was reportedly upset with lead groundsman Lee Fortis’s attitude toward his coaching staff, and some of the restrictions while inspecting the pitch were deemed unjust.

Gautam Gambhir Had A Similar Run-In With The Pitch Curator In Delhi

Interestingly, this isn't the first time Gautam Gambhir has gotten into a spat with a curator. Former BCCI umpire Marcus Couto, talking to TOI, recalled an incident from 2014 when Gambhir, then captain of Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, got into a fierce argument with the pitch curator at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. 

"It was a Vijay Hazare Trophy match between Delhi and Punjab, in Delhi. It was my farewell game as a BCCI umpire. We, the match officials, had gone to the Kotla for a pre-match meeting with the captains, Gambhir (Delhi) and Harbhajan Singh (Punjab), and then suddenly we saw Gambhir and the Delhi curator (not Sundaram) involved in a heated argument, following which Gambhir literally chased him out of the ground," Marcus said.

Gautam Gambhir, who had just been dropped from the Indian team, was fuming over the track conditions. The disagreement over pitch became so intense that Gambhir allegedly chased the curator off the ground. 

"Gambhir just wasn't happy with the pitch that the curator had prepared. To tell you the truth, the pitch was very bad, as the ball barely rose above ankle height in the match. Later, that maali (groundsman) told me that Gambhir was very aggressive with the curators. I was reminded of that incident when I saw reports of Gambhir involved in similar spat with The Oval curator yesterday," he added.

Couto, who was umpiring his farewell match at the time, said he wasn’t surprised to hear about the latest altercation at The Oval. 

Lee Fortis’ Double Standards Exposed At Oval

During India’s practice session, The Oval’s chief groundsman, Lee Fortis, stopped Gautam Gambhir's coaching staff from wandering around the pitch. Fortis’ attitude led to a full-blown argument, with Gambhir yelling at him to stop disrespecting his team.

On the very next day, England’s coach Brendon McCullum and his team were allowed to inspect the pitch without any guidelines. According to reports, the home team checked out the track from up close, and players also did shadow batting at the crease. During this whole time, Fortis was missing, leading to allegations of bias.