India coach Gambhir in confrontation with Surrey ground staff

Before Thursday’s fifth and final Test against England at The Oval, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir engaged in a verbal exchange with Surrey’s ground staff.

The India coach can be heard yelling “you can’t tell us what to do,” as seen in the video from the net session when Gambhir points his finger at Surrey’s head of ground staff, Lee Fortis.

Sitanshu Kotak, an Indian batting coach who was present at the time of the incident, claimed the coaches were being asked to leave the wicket as a result of a press conference.

One of the ground staff came and said to us to stand two and a half meters away from the wicket as we were looking at it. Nobody has ever said that in their cricketing career, Kotak said.

He literally said, “You can go outside the rope to the head coach and see the wicket,” he said. How are you able to see?

India used three practice wickets surrounded by nets close to the Test match pitch, which is standard practice, without a designated outdoor practice area.

Surrey declined to comment, despite Fortis later downplaying the incident and telling Indian media “there’s nothing to talk about” in a video. Nothing can be hidden here.

The fourth Test at Old Trafford ended with India refusing to shake hands for the draw as Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar reached centuries later, making this the most contentious incident in a heated and competitive series between the two teams.

In the third Test at Lord’s, India’s skipper Shubman Gill also claimed that England were using “time-wasting tactics” against the spirit of cricket.

After just three days between Tests, England lead the five-match series 2-1, and Ben Stokes’ men are expected to make changes to the team following Manchester’s draw. Particularly the bowling line-up, which is expected to be changed.

After Stokes struggled with a number of niggles, the squad has the replacement quicks: Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, and Josh Tongue. Jofra Archer has returned from a four-year injury lay-up after playing both of Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse in consecutive games.

Stephan Shemilt, the chief cricket correspondent for BBC Sport, provides an analysis.

Lee Fortis and Gautam Gambhir are two sincere individuals. No one would be willing to concede a blade of grass in the event of disagreement.

Another illustration of this series’ high emotion. This is the first of the three things: the tetchiness at Lord’s, the handbag handshakes at Old Trafford, and finally this. The Oval has raised the stakes until a live performance with an increased level of tension. Results are important to those involved in this elite sport. It’s no wonder that some things occasionally spill over.

From now on, the Oval pitch will be in the spotlight. Although spinners can anticipate a lot of involvement in the past, this hasn’t been the case in recent years.

England is reportedly considering leaving out Liam Dawson. Under the leadership of Ben Stokes, they have only had the opportunity to play in Tests once before.

Stokes himself might have a big impact on everything. After leaving Old Trafford, he is questioned about his potential role this week.