India batting coach addresses Gambhir, The Oval curator’s verbal spat

India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has opened up about the verbal spat between Gautam Gambhir and The Oval’s curator.

The India head coach raised eyebrows after he was seen having an animated chat with Surrey groundsman Lee Fortis.

Video footage showed Gambhir having a go at Fortis and pointing his finger in the direction of Surrey’s head of ground staff.

Reportedly, the incident occurred after Lee Fortis asked India team members and staff to stay away from the square housing the main pitch at The Oval.

According to UK media outlets, Gautam Gambhir shouted, “You can’t tell us what to do!” after Fortis asked India team members to keep their distance from the pitch.

India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has now called The Oval curator ‘not the easiest person,’ alleging that he shouted at India’s support staff.

Read more: VIDEO: Gambhir involved in heated exchange with The Oval staff

“When we went to see the wicket, the coaches were standing over there. He [Fortis] sent a person over there and asked us to step 2.5m away, which was a little surprising. It’s a cricket wicket, a five-day Test is going to take place and we were wearing joggers,” he said during a press conference soon after the incident.

According to Kotak, Gautam Gambhir objected to Fortis yelling at support staff who were getting an ice box.

“The way he spoke irked Gambhir. Everyone knows curator at The Oval is not the easiest person to deal with,” Sitanshu Kotak said.

While he acknowledged that curators usually are protective of the pitch, the India coach was of the view that there was no harm in looking at the wicket with rubber spikes.

“Just looking at the wicket with rubber spikes, there is nothing wrong there. The curators also need to understand that the people they are talking to are highly skilled and intelligent people. It’s a cricket pitch, not an antique which you cannot touch, which is 200 years old and can be broken,” Kotak said.