'Boss, what are you doing? This isn't how you want to play with this Indian team'
‘When we are pushed against the wall, the Indian team becomes a different kettle of fish’
The calm before the finale didn’t last long. India’s preparations for the fifth Test were rocked by a pitch-side altercation between head coach Gautam Gambhir and The Oval’s chief curator Lee Fortis — a moment that Ravichandran Ashwin believes could galvanise the squad.
The flashpoint occurred when Fortis allegedly instructed members of India’s support staff to maintain a 2.5-metre distance from the pitch during their routine inspection. Visibly irked, Gambhir snapped back with a fiery rebuke, ‘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,’ he said, pointing at Fortis in full view of players and staff.
While players continued with their drills, the confrontation cast a visible shadow over India’s camp just 48 hours before the high-stakes series finale. But for Ashwin, the moment may have lit a spark the team needed.
Reflecting on the incident in his show Ash Ki Baat, Ashwin drew a comparison to India’s gritty performance during the 2021 Sydney Test, ‘I can draw a parallel with Sydney. When we drew the Test in Sydney, there was an uncertainty because we were back in the bubble and the Gabba Test was under scrutiny. (Similarly) England were comfortably ahead in the series until that last Test. Till the last day, we thought the Test series was sealed. But the way that game ended, even if it was a draw, and the conversations it triggered and the press conference... it was fiery.’
‘I won't go into whether Gambhir was right about asking for a substitute or how Stokes immediately shut it down... after all of this comes the video of the fight. And I am thinking, 'Boss, what are you doing? This isn't how you want to play with this Indian team',’ Ashwin added, referencing the brewing tension between the two camps over the past few days.
Ashwin warned that England may have ‘poked the bear’ with their recent behaviour, pointing to the post-match tensions in Manchester and now the Oval pitch spat as signs that India are being pushed into a corner — a place where they historically thrive.
‘When adversity is against the Indian team, somebody will rise up. When we are pushed against the wall, the Indian team becomes a different kettle of fish. It becomes a different beast,’ Ashwin said.
‘That particular thing going into the Test is a serious advantage for India. It may mean nothing if England play good cricket and India don't end up on the right side, but somehow I feel this is not the way it has to be triggered.’
With the final Test hanging in the balance and emotions already running high, India’s dressing room may now carry an extra edge — not just for what’s at stake on the scoreboard, but for pride, perception, and the principle of equal treatment.
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