Srinagar: Team India coach Gautam Gambhir was involved in a heated verbal exchange with the Oval pitch curator ahead of the fifth Test against England.
The two sides are set to face off in the fifth and final Test at the venue on July 31, with England leading the series 2-1.
England won the opening Test by five wickets in Leeds; however, India fought back with an impressive win in the second game in Birmingham.
The third Test between both sides became a cliffhanger, with England winning the match at Lord’s only by 22 runs on the final day of the game.
The Indian team arrived in London from Manchester after producing a memorable performance in the fourth Test and had an optional training session.
However, things heated up after the Indian team arrived at the venue as Gautam Gambhir was seen in an animated chat with Surrey head groundsman Lee Fortis.
The dispute happened reportedly due to a disagreement over the use of the square housing the main pitch.
The incident took place when Gautam Gambhir intervened during a discussion between India’s assistant coach, Sitanshu Kotak, and the groundsmen.
Subsequently, Fortis warned Gautam Gambhir about reporting him to the International Cricket Council (ICC) if he continued to ‘swear’ at them.
India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said the altercation took place after the visitors were asked to stand “2.5 metres from the wicket”. However, he said the Indian team will not be filing any complaint.
“Honestly, one of ground staff came and said (that we were required to) stand 2.5 metre from the wicket and ‘go outside the rope and see the wicket’. I have never seen something like that,” Kotak told the media later.
“No complaint is needed for this,” he added.
Kotak said the Indian squad members were not wearing spikes so there was no element of danger to the surface.
“Before this game, we had an idea that the curator is not the easiest person to work with. Being possessive is good but no so much. We had joggers on (and) not spikes so there was no danger,” he said.