India’s Gautam Gambhir clashes with Oval groundsman before fifth Test

The India head coach Gautam Gambhir was involved in a heated altercation with Surrey’s head groundsman during the team’s training session at the Kia Oval on Tuesday morning.

Gambhir was seen pointing his finger at Lee Fortis and shouting “you can’t tell us what to do”. Fortis responded and eventually the pair were separated by Sitanshu Kotak, India’s batting coach, and other members of support staff.

The Times understands that the argument arose because India had wheeled their bags over an area of the square that was being prepared for future matches and that the team had encroached out of the area set aside on the outfield for their training session.

Surrey are hosting 60 days of cricket at the Oval this summer and the groundstaff were trying to protect the square before the fifth Test, which begins on Thursday, and for future fixtures, including five days of Hundred matches, a limited-overs match against South Africa in September and several home Surrey matches.

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