Will Team India lodge a complaint against Oval curator Lee Fortis?

Team India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has revealed that the Indian team will not lodge any complaint on Surrey groundsman Lee Fortis, who was involved in a heated altercation with the Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday, July 29, ahead of the fifth and final Test.

Shifting our focus to the details of the incident, Fortis, the Oval chief curator, allegedly instructed the support staff members of the Indian team to maintain at least a distance of 2.5m from the pitch. However, this didn’t go down well with Team India's head coach, who shouted at Fortis.

"You stop it. You don't tell us what we need to do. You don't tell us what we need to do, okay. You don't need to tell us. You don't tell any of my squad what we need to do. You have no right to tell us. You're just a groundsman, you stay in your capacity. You are just a groundsman, nothing beyond. You are just a groundsman,” Gambhir yelled at Fortis.

Fortis reacted, "I will have to report this."

Attending the pre-match press conference, Kotak has clarified that the support staff members were inspecting the pitch, wearing rubber spikes. Moreover, he reckoned that Fortis needs to understand the people he is talking to, as the support staff is highly skilled and intelligent.

"When we went to have a look at the wicket, someone came up and told us to stand 2.5 metres away. That was surprising, to say the least. We weren't wearing spikes. There are still two days to go before the match. I've never seen anything like it in my life,” Kotak stated.

"[We were] just looking at the wicket, with rubber spikes, day after there's a Test match there, there's nothing wrong [with that]. Curators also need to understand the people they are talking to, they are highly skilled and intelligent. For example, if you go on the ground now where we practised, you won't even see that any bowler in the outfield would have marked with his spikes. That all comes from the head coach. We try and see this ground also doesn't get damaged,” he observed.

India and England will clash against each other in the fifth and final Test of the series at Kennington Oval in London, starting on Thursday, July 31.

Stay updated with the latest cricket news, match insights, and exclusive updates at Sky365 and download the Sky365 App to start betting today!