A finger-pointing confrontation erupted at The Oval on Tuesday when India's head coach Gautam Gambhir clashed with Surrey's chief groundsman Lee Fortis during a practice session.
Video footage captured Gambhir gesticulating at Fortis whilst shouting "you can't tell us what to do" after ground staff intervened during India's preparations for Thursday's decisive fifth Test.
The altercation occurred when Indian coaches were examining the Test wicket and were instructed to maintain distance from the pitch area.
Fortis had approached the visiting team to express concerns about their proximity to the playing surface during the optional training session.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir clashed with Surrey's chief groundsman Lee Fortis during a practice session
|ESPN
The heated exchange marks the latest flashpoint in an increasingly tense series between England and India, with the hosts currently leading 2-1 heading into the final match.
The dispute centred on India's utilisation of the main square for their training activities, with Fortis expressing unease about multiple personnel occupying the area surrounding the practice wickets.
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Ground staff were particularly concerned about preserving the pitch conditions, given The Oval's busy cricket schedule extending through early September.
The head groundsman's primary worry involved protecting the pitches, which span the length of the ground.
India's support staff, who had arrived before the players and coaching team, were informed it would be challenging to avoid using the space near the three designated practice strips.
The visiting team had been employing standard training procedures, using practice wickets with surrounding nets positioned close to the Test match pitch, as The Oval lacks a dedicated outdoor practice facility.
India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, who witnessed the confrontation, provided a robust defence of his colleague's reaction during a subsequent press conference.
"When we were standing on the wicket looking at it, one of the ground staff came and said to stand two and half metres away from here. In my cricketing career I have never seen anybody saying that," Kotak stated.
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Surrey's chief groundsman Lee Fortis was confronted by the India coach
|ANI
He expressed bewilderment at the groundsman's demands, explaining that Fortis had instructed them to observe the wicket from beyond the boundary rope.
"Literally he was saying that 'you can go outside the rope' to the head coach and see the wicket. I don't know how you can see," Kotak said.
The batting coach suggested the request would have been reasonable only if the coaches had been damaging the surface with spikes or interfering with pitch preparation, describing the groundsman's approach as "a very strange way of saying it."
The confrontation represents another chapter in an increasingly fractious series that has witnessed multiple controversial moments between the sides.
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The fourth Test at Old Trafford concluded with India declining to participate in the traditional handshakes after Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar completed centuries.
Earlier in the series, Indian captain Shubman Gill accused England of employing time-wasting strategies that went "against the spirit of cricket" during the third Test at Lord's.
Both teams face significant selection dilemmas for Thursday's decider. India must cope without wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant due to a foot fracture and face a decision regarding pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who has already bowled in the three Tests initially planned for him.
England's bowling resources appear stretched, with captain Ben Stokes nursing various injuries after four consecutive matches.