Ugly spat between Gambhir and Oval curator add spice to series finale
London, Jul 29 (PTI): India's training session two days before the series deciding fifth Test against England became a sideshow as head coach Gautam Gambhir got involved in a heated verbal spat with The Oval's chief curator Lee Fortis who allegedly asked the visiting team's support staff to stand 2.5 visitors from the pitch.
Gambhir was on Tuesday heard telling Fortis "you don't tell any of us what we need to do, you have no right to tell us, you are just a groundsman nothing beyond" while pointing fingers at the chief curator. In response Fortis was heard saying "I will have to report this."
In the presence of 10 squad members minus captain Shubman Gill, the training session in the field of play was going on as usual until Gambhir blasted Fortis, who is not the "easiest person to work with" despite winning ECB's best multi-day pitches award for the last three years.
India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak tried to douse the fire by taking Fortis away from Gambhir, who was visibly angry with the chief curator. Later, Kotak explained what really happened in the middle.
"When we went to take a look at the wicket the coaches were there, someone came to us and said 'stand 2.5 metres away', which was little surprising. Day after there is a Test match, we had our joggers on not spike and it felt a bit awkward. I have never seen anything like that in my life.
"The Indian players had told me that he is not the easiest person to work with. Now you all know. It is okay to be protective and possessive about this pitch but not to this extent," said Kotak.
While the drama was unfolding, the travelling Indian media approached Fortis for his thoughts on the incident but he did not have much to say.
"He is a bit tetchy it is a big game this week. You saw what he was like this morning. You have to ask him (what happened)," Fortis said.
'It's not an antique'
Kotak hinted the situation may have slipped out of control due to the tone of communication.
"Curators also needs to understand that the people they are talking to, they are highly skilled and intelligent. So for example if you go on the ground now where we practiced you won't even see that any bowlers in outfield would have marked with his spikes.
"We try and see that this ground also should not get damaged. So when you are working with a very intelligent and highly skilled people if you sound a bit arrogant or if you come across like you know you can be protective but end of the day it's a cricket pitch.
"It's not an antique where you can't touch because otherwise it's 200 years old and it can be broken you know," Kotak said.
"So that's what I feel. I mean that's after a day we were with rubber standing there. You tell me day after day a batsman will be sliding to survive from run out. A bowler will be sliding there to stop the ball. So maybe he is thinking that we are trying to grow the grass. I mean I don't know."
With England not scheduled to train on Monday, head coach Brendon McCullum and ECB managing director Rob Key came to see the pitch in casual clothes but Kotak said no instructions were issued to them from The Oval groundstaff.
According to Kotak, what made the situation worse was that Fortis shouted at one member of the Indian team support staff to not take the cooling box near the main square. Kotak also ruled out filing any complaint with the ECB over the incident.
"I was thinking that you will ask about the draw of the last match (laughs). No, when one of the support staff was bringing the cooling box there, still Fortis was sitting on the roller, he shouted and told the support staff not to take it there. Now the weight of that cooling box will be 10 kilos according to me.
"He said something like that from a distance that do not take the cooling box there. So, it is good to be a little possessive and it is also good to be protective, but not that much.
"So, then Gautam just said that do not talk to the support staff like this, because the support staff, we all come under the head coach. Any head coach will say that you cannot shout from there and say this.
"So, it was very normal. Then he came there and he was saying, I think it got built up from the wicket when we were watching. And to be very, very honest, if you want me to be very honest, before coming to Oval, most of the team knows that the curator is not the easiest person to get on with.
"And I am sure you also would be aware of it. So, that gives a lot of answers. No, I do not think there is any point in complaining," Kotan elaborated on the incident.
Surrey, the county that owns the stadium, did not give an official statement on the altercation but sources said the curator was only trying to protect the main square with the ground hosting more than 60 days of cricket in a season.
It was no surprise that most of the questions during Kotak's media interaction were related to the Gambhir-Fortis showdown.
"If somebody is trying to put something in the wicket or somebody is wearing spikes, the curator feels that it is fine. But it was a very strange way of saying you go and stand two and a half metres away from here.
"So, I think that is what started. Because Gautam is someone who does not even speak unnecessary things. He does not talk to anyone.
"Last four games we played, everywhere, wherever we go, all the curators where they talk, they even tell you when they are going to cut the grass, whether they are going to cut the grass. And if they do not want to give an answer, they will say, we will see on the weather, we will see tomorrow. So, that is a good answer.
"So, specifically the wicket will be used for the match. Gautam was trying to just take a look at it. And I was there. All coaches were there. So, I think looking at the wicket is not a bad thing with the joggers on," Kotak went on.
🚨 Gautam Gambhir Fight with pitch curator 🚨
— Jeet (@JeetN25) July 29, 2025
England have started playing dirty games. The Oval’s chief curator was trying to dictate terms to Indian Cricket Team on how they should practice and causing troubles during a practice session. pic.twitter.com/jBHhObVgNa pic.twitter.com/qjAGSNnpwK
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Parents fear uncertainty after Karnataka govt rules out age limit relaxation for Class 1 admission
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has ruled out any relaxation of the minimum age limit for admission to Class 1 beginning with the academic year 2026-27. Following the refusal, a group of parents continues to press for leniency.
Parents of children who fall under the age of six by a small margin on the cut-off date have met Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and senior officials from the Department of School Education and Literacy to request an exemption. School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa said that the government will not change its decision, as reported by Deccan Herald.
According to the minister, children must be six years old by June 1 to be eligible for admission to Class 1. beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. He noted that the previous relaxation was a one-time measure that was clearly confined to the 2025-26 academic year.
“If such requests are entertained every year, it will never end. While granting relaxation last year, it was explicitly stated that it applied only to one academic year. From 2026-27 onwards, the rule will be strictly implemented,” Bangarappa was quoted by DH.
Parents argue that the rigid cut-off is affecting children who are short by a few days. One parent was quoted by DH as saying that his daughter would be 12 days short of completing six years on June 1. Such parents would be forced to repeat a year despite being academically ready. Others pointed out that children promoted from LKG to UKG during the 2025-26 academic year are now facing uncertainty over their transition to Class 1.
Few parents also recalled that earlier, admissions were allowed for children aged between five years and 10 months and six years. Parents saw it as a more practical approach, with children born in November and December being disproportionately affected.
The issue of age criterion goes back to a government order issued in July 2022. The order mandated six years as the minimum age for Class 1 admission. Parents of children already enrolled in pre-primary classes, protested against the order and the state deferred implementation, announcing that the rule would come into force from the 2025-26 academic year.
After renewed pressure, the government granted a one-year relaxation for 2025-26, citing the large number of students affected and in consultation with the State Education Policy Commission. While announcing the exemption, the minister had stated that no further concessions would be allowed.
