India captain Shubman Gill criticized The Oval’s pitch curator, Lee Fortis, for his heated exchange with head coach Gautam Gambhir. Gill said he was puzzled by the incident and couldn’t recall any similar issues with other curators during the series.
The controversy erupted on Tuesday, July 29, when Fortis reportedly asked India’s coaching staff to stay at least 2.5 meters away from the pitch. This led to a verbal spat with Gambhir, who firmly told Fortis he had no right to dictate their actions.
Ahead of the fifth Test, Gill firmly addressed the curator controversy for the first time. He said:
“As long as I remember, no such instructions are given. As long as you are wearing rubber spikes or are barefoot, you can watch the wicket by going close. I don’t know what happened yesterday and why the curator said no to it. We have played four matches before that and no one had stopped us. I don’t know what the fuss was all about.”
SHUBMAN GILL ON GAUTAM GAMBHIR ROW:
– "We have playing for such a long time. We can look at the pitch wearing rubber spikes or barefoot. I don’t know why the curator didn’t allow that". (Sahil Malhotra). pic.twitter.com/Sw9L7dfZhM
— Tanuj (@ImTanujSingh) July 30, 2025
The Indian skipper also brushed off a question about whether Gambhir was under pressure with the team behind in the series. The 25-year-old responded:
“If a pitch curator to going to come and ask us to not look at the pitch and look at the wicket from 3m from behind, that’s not something that has happened to us before. We have been playing cricket for a long time.”
Shubman Gill Downplays Concerns Over Short Gap Before Oval Test
The final Test at The Oval is set to begin only three days after the fourth Test wrapped up in Manchester. In contrast, there were longer intervals between the earlier matches in the series. Shubman Gill admitted the short turnaround is tough but pointed out all four Tests lasted the full five days.
“One of the most important things in the series has been that the matches have gone on till five days – not just five days, the last session of Day 5. I can’t remember a series where all the four matches went on till the last day. It’s definitely hard,” Gill said.
“Three days is too less of a turnaround when both the teams are playing such hard cricket. But, we also understand, if you keep giving five or six days after every match, the tour becomes very long. The decision has been taken by the board and we trust it,” the Indian captain added.
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