Team India captain Shubman Gill has opened up about the incident related to head coach Gautam Gambhir and Oval’s pitch curator, Li Fortis. Gill also expressed confusion over the curator’s decision to stop Indian players from inspecting close to the pitch during his training session.
On Tuesday, the curator directed India’s coaching staff to stay 2.5 meters away from the main pitch during his training session. Indian assistant employees were disappointed, which led to a hot exchange between Fortis and Gautam Gambhir, who said, “Don’t tell us what to do.”
Shubman Gill broke silence on Gautam Gambhir’s spat with Oval curator
At a press conference on the eve of the Oval Test, Shubman Gill said that he had never come for a rule in which players or coaches needed to stay 2.5 meters away from the main pitch. He unnecessarily called the curator’s response to Gautam Gambhir.
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“As long as I can remember, no such instructions have been received (to stay 2.5 meters away). You can take a look at the pitch as long as you are wearing rubber spikes or bare feet,” Shubman Gill said at a pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
“I don’t know what happened yesterday. Why did the curator stop us? We have played four matches here, and no curator has given us such instructions. And we have seen enough cricket and played. We have inspected the pitch many times, I don’t know what the nuisance is,” he said.
This is not something that has happened to us before – Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill said that there was no such pressure on Gautam Gambhir and said that it was uncommon for the curator to ask the players to see the pitch from a distance of three meters.
Gill said, “Not really. If a pitch curator comes and asks us to see the wicket at a distance of 3 meters, it’s not something that has happened to us first,” Gill said.
Meanwhile, England captain Ben Stokes, who was excluded from the final test due to a shoulder injury, avoided commenting on the case. Stokes said that he was not present at that time and did not know what had really happened.
“Obviously, it is not difficult to see that stuff, but I was not here. I don’t know what happened,” Stokes said.
You can’t tell us what to do – Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir Li was involved in a hot exchange with Lee Fortis. In the footage, Gambhir was seen saying, “You cannot tell us what to do” and “You don’t tell any of us what to do.” He added, “You are just groundsmen, nothing beyond nothing,” a comment that quickly criticized widely.
Fortis replied that he could carry forward the issue through an official complaint. However, Gambhir replied, “You can go and report whatever you want.”
This phenomenon has only added to increasing stress that is already a hot five-match chain. England currently proceeds 2–1, in which the decisive final test begins at the Oval on Thursday.
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