'I was made to look like a villain': Oval Curator on heated exchange with Gautam Gambhir

The Oval pitch curator Lee Fortis has opened up after his heated exchange with India coach Gautam before the fifth Test against England.

Things remained heated throughout the Anderson-Tendulkar series between India and England. However, on the eve of the fifth Test, it reached fever pitch with a verbal altercation between Gambhir and Fortis.

You don’t tell us what we need to do. You don’t tell us what we need to do, okay. You don’t need to tell us. You don’t tell any of my squad what we need to do.

You have no right to tell us. You’re just a groundsman; you stay in your capacity. You are just a groundsman, nothing beyond. You are just a groundsman,” Gautam Gambhir replied to Lee Fortis.

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The exchange arose from the groundsman’s instructions to the Indian players and staff to maintain their distance from the squad housing the main pitch.

After the spat, India batting coach Sitansu Kotak claimed that Lee Fortis shouted at the India staff, which irked Gautam Gambhir.

“We all have been on the ground enough, we have played so much cricket. Curators are possessive about the ground and the square, but they need to understand that they are speaking to highly skilled and intelligent people,” Kotakl said during a press conference at the time.

Now, Lee Fortis has spoken about the incident, lauding the exciting game of cricket.

“Well, I was never the villain; I was made into one. Hope you guys enjoyed the show, and the atmosphere was like the IPL. It was a great game,” Lee Fortis said in an interview with an Indian media outlet.

The series ended on a thrilling note with India securing a win against England by only six runs, resulting in a stalemate of 2-2.

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