IND vs ENG, 5th Test: 'A coach has every right to look at wicket from close quarters', says Gill on Gambhir-Fortis argument
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "IND vs ENG, 5th Test: 'A coach has every right to look at wicket from close quarters', says Gill on Gambhir-Fortis argument")
India Test captain Shubman Gill Photograph: (AFP)
India, trailing 1-2 in the series, stayed alive as the fourth Test ended in a draw. The visitors will look to conjure up a win to finish the five Tests series on 2-2
With India preparing for the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, there has been a pitch access controversy taking centre stage at The Oval. India skipper Shubman Gill has now spoken on the issue between head coach Gautam Gambhir and Oval pitch curator Lee Fortis.
While India practiced on Tuesday, Gambhir had a heated confrontation with Lee over the practice facilities. Stepping aside, the Indian head coach gestured wildly, pointing a finger and mouthing a couple of words. India's batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, was then spotted intervening, leading Lee aside and talking briefly to him.
Whereas Kotak seemed to defuse the tension in explaining their position, Gambhir, standing close to the nets, wagged his finger at Lee and angrily declared, “You don't tell us what to do.” India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate joined Kotak in his exchange with Lee, as Gambhir kept on making his point from the other side. Lee uttered a few words to Gambhir before finally walking out of the scene.
Lee was asked regarding the whole affair, but he preferred not to open up before the reporters and said, “It's not my job to be happy with him. I don't know, you have to ask him.” Kotak, and a couple of Indian management members, were observed attempting to clarify the situation to an English official. Kotak did most of the talking during that time.
Addressing the pre-final Test press conference, Gill said, "I don't know what exactly happened yesterday and why the pitch curator did what he did. We have played four matches, and no one tried to stop us. Everyone has played so much cricket, and the coaches and the captain have gone and seen the wicket so many times. I don't know what the fuss was all about."
He went on to clarify that it is not unusual for captains and coaches to walk over the pitch up close, a standard step in preparation, provided that the individual is barefoot or has rubber spikes on. "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 from behind, that is not something that has happened to us before. We have been playing cricket for such a long time and as long as you are under rubber spikes or you are barefoot, you are allowed to look at the wicket from close quarters, and that is the job of the coach and the captain. So I don't know why the curator didn't let us or didn't allow us to do that. It is not the first time that we were having a look at the wicket," he added.
"We have been here for almost, I think, two months and like I said, 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," the India captain signed off.
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