Lee Fortis, chief curator on the Kennington Oval, clearly hasn’t moved on from his heated spat with India head coach Gautam Gambhir. Every week in the past, a viral clip captured the 2 in a tense trade over the central sq. on the Oval. Whereas India disregarded the incident and went on to stun England within the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy decider to stage the sequence 2-2, Fortis has reignited the row—taking one other dig at Gambhir, calling him “tetchy” or ‘bad-tempered’.
Tempers flared two days earlier than the ultimate Check between India and England when Gambhir clashed with Oval curator Fortis. The argument erupted after Fortis expressed concern about Indian gamers and workers getting too near the pitch throughout an non-compulsory apply session.
Fortis first approached India’s assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak, prompting Gambhir to intervene. He wagged his finger at Fortis and repeatedly instructed him he was “only a groundsman.” Fortis warned Gambhir to cease swearing or danger being reported to the ICC match referee.
As Fortis continued talking with Kotak, Gambhir grew extra agitated, telling the coach to not “get right into a dialogue” with the curator. Based on an ESPNcricinfo report, when Fortis issued a second warning, Gambhir snapped: “You cease it. You do not inform us what we have to do. You don’t have any proper to inform us. You are only a groundsman—keep in your capability. Nothing past. You’re only a groundsman.”
Chatting with PTI seven days after the incident, Lee Fortis stated the spat had made him a villain within the eyes of Indian cricketers and followers. Nevertheless, he expressed satisfaction with how the sequence finale performed out and praised the IPL-like ambiance at The Oval.
“Effectively, I used to be by no means the villain; I used to be made into one. Hope you guys loved the present, and the ambiance was just like the IPL. It was an excellent sport,” Fortis, the ECB curator of the 12 months for the final three years in a row, stated on a lighter word after a busy week at his Oval workplace.
Fortis is now gearing up for The Hundred, which is able to start on August 9. The truth is, PTI reported that proper after Mohammed Siraj cleaned up England’s remaining wicket, Gus Atkinson, to document a six-run win for India, Fortis was again close to the primary sq. to supervise the preparation for The Hundred video games.
