‘Boss, what are you doing?' India legend warns England have poked 'the beast' after Gambhir's fallout with Oval curator

Hindustan Times

4 days ago

India's final preparations for the decisive fifth Test took a dramatic turn at The Oval as head coach Gautam Gambhir got into a heated argument with chief curator Lee Fortis near the pitch. The flashpoint came when Fortis allegedly instructed India's support staff to maintain a 2.5-metre distance from the surface. Visibly irked, Gambhir fired back with an explosive rebuke: 'You don't tell any of us what we need to do, you have no right to tell us, you are just a groundsman, nothing beyond,' he said, pointing fingers at Fortis in full public view. London: India's head coach Gautam Gambhir and support staff interact with a groundsman during a training session(PTI)
The incident unfolded during India's training session on Tuesday, attended by ten players, with skipper Shubman Gill notably absent. Fortis, who has earned accolades for his multi-day pitches but is also known within county circles for being a difficult customer, stood his ground and responded curtly: 'I will have to report this.'
While the players continued with their drills, the altercation left a visible cloud over the team's mood just 48 hours before the high-stakes finale. Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, however, viewed the tense exchange in a different light; he stated that the fiery exchange is likely to boost the morale in the dressing room even further.
"I can draw a parallel with Sydney. When we drew the Test in Sydney, there was an uncertainty because we were back in the bubble and the Gabba Test was under scrutiny. England were comfortably ahead in the series until that last Test. Till the last day, we thought the Test series was sealed. But the way that game ended, even if it was a draw, and the conversations it triggered and the press conference... it was fiery.
'I won't go into whether Gambhir was right about asking for a substitute or how Stokes immediately shut it down... after all of this comes the video of the fight. And I am thinking, 'Boss, what are you doing? This isn't how you want to play with this Indian team',' Ashwin said on Ash Ki Baat.
'Different kettle of fish'
Ravichandran Ashwin warned that England may have poked the bear with their Day 5 antics in Manchester, insisting that the Indian team thrives when cornered. From the post-match tensions to the Oval pitch spat, Ashwin suggested the fire within the squad has only been stoked further.
'When adversity is against the Indian team, somebody will rise up. When we are pushed against the wall, the Indian team becomes a different kettle of fish. It becomes a different beast. That particular thing going into the Test is a serious advantage for India. It may mean nothing if England play good cricket and India don't end up on the right side, but somehow I feel this is not the way it has to be triggered,' said Ashwin.