ENG vs IND 2025: 'Coach has every right to look at the pitch' - Shubman Gill shares stance in Gambhir versus Oval curator altercation

Published - 30 Jul 2025, 23:08 IST | Updated - 30 Jul 2025, 23:14 IST

Shubman Gill defended Indian coach Gautam Gambhir after he got involved in a heated altercation with The Oval's pitch curator Lee Fortis on Tuesday, July 29, during a training session. Fortis wasn't too pleased with the Indian team management taking a close look at the pitch for the fifth and final Test match against England, which gets underway on Thursday, July 31.

The Surrey head groundsman wanted India to stand 2.5 metres away from the pitch while inspecting it. An irate Gambhir was seen pointing a finger at Fortis and telling him that he is "just a groundsman".

"What happened yesterday, I thought was just absolutely unnecessary. It's not the first time that we were having a look at the wicket, we have been there for almost two months. A coach has every right to be able to go close quarters and have a look at the wicket and I didn't think there was anything wrong with that. I actually don't know why the curator would not allow us to go have a look at the wicket," Gill said in the pre-match press conference.

Gill recalled that no other curator at the four previous venues in the series - Headingley, Edgbaston, Lord's and Old Trafford - had imposed restrictions on India's ability to view the pitch or the square.

"As long as I remember, we had never got any instructions. As long as you are wearing rubber spikes or [are] barefoot you can see the wicket from near. We have played four matches already in this series, and nobody stopped us from watching the pitch. All of us have played so much cricket, we have gone to the pitches so many times, including the coaches and captain, I don't know what the fuss was about," Gill added.

When a team is trailing in a series, sometimes the players and the people in the management lose their heads quite easily. Gill was asked whether being 1-2 down in the five-match series and the pressure associated with it was the reason behind Gambhir's animated reaction. However, the Punjab batter denied this.

"Not really. If a pitch curator is going to come and ask us to not look at the wicket and look at the wicket from three metres behind, that's not something that has happened to us before. We've been doing cricket for such a long time and as long as you are wearing rubber spikes or are barefoot, you are allowed to look at the wicket from close quarters. That's the job of the coach and the captain," Gill stated.

The Indian players have had some heated arguments with their English counterparts over the first four Test matches. In the most recent encounter, England captain Ben Stokes was left fuming after Ravindra Jadeja turned down a handshake and continued batting until he and Washington Sundar got their centuries.

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Despite the several heated exchanges, Gill said that the relationship between the two teams is fantastic and it's just that they don't give each other an inch when they are on the field.

"The relation is fantastic, but when you are on the field, you are trying to win a game at the end of the day, and both the teams have been very competitive and sometimes when you are competitive in the heat of the moment, you do or say things that you might not do," he said. "But once the match is over, there is mutual respect between both teams," Gill said.