As India prepares for the final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy, a fresh controversy has erupted from the Kennington Oval in London ahead of the all-important Test match.
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Team India's head coach, Gautam Gambhir, was involved in a heated exchange with the Oval's groundsman, Lee Fortis, during a practice session two days before the Test match.
Former India cricketer and broadcaster Navjot Singh Sidhu has now criticized the groundsman for his poor behaviour towards the Indian head coach and has reflected on how Team India will respond to the disrespect.
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The incident occurred when the head curator, Lee Fortis, instructed Gambhir and the Indian support staff to stay 2.5 metres away from the pitch. The groundsman's directive and how he delivered it was reportedly aggressive and, according to Sidhu, a highly disrespectful way to speak to a country's head coach.
What sparked outrage was the inconsistency in enforcing protocols. England's head coach Brendon McCullum stood on the pitch ahead of the Ashes Test in 2023 and before the recent Test match.
But Fortis didn't take offence at that -- in fact, he was chatting with McCullum in the middle of the pitch on both occasions.
India's batting coach said - "Curator Lee forties yelled at Support staff for keeping the cooling box on the square. Asked Gautam Gambhir to stand behind the rope and check the pitch".
— Tanuj (@ImTanujSingh) July 29, 2025
- Meanwhile Pitch Curator & Brendon McCullum are having chat in the middle of the pitch. pic.twitter.com/uorKRdiIUt
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Sidhu said:
"A lowly groundsman coming and telling India's head coach to stay away 2.5 metres away from the pitch, telling him you're not allowed to stand here, was insulting. Asking the coach of a country to move away from the pitch was an attack on Indian pride."
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Sidhu further added that this Indian side has bounced back strongly whenever its pride has been attacked. He described India's comeback to win the Perth Test after the Monkey Gate incident and reflected how any form of disrespect brings the Indian side together.
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"What Gautam Gambhir did today - whenever the pride is attacked, whenever there's an insult, the team comes together, a unique spark ignites within the team...You see, Monkey gate happened...India won at Perth...Even here, the verbal spats have been happening; these are not small incidents. The Crawley incident, handshake controversy...I think this India team will respond to all the attacks with unity."
The series between India and England has been highly discussed, not only because of the on-field battles but also because of the verbal exchanges and heated moments.
With England coming off a frustrating draw at Manchester, one could expect yet another high-voltage clash between the two sides as they lock horns for the final time in London.