Gautam Gambhir, chief curator clash at The Oval

[G_B_]

I think gg wrong to say just a groundsman.

 

But right to hold the line. I would habe given this guy a pass if not similar incident with womens team.

 

 

 

 

 

[lemsip]

7 minutes ago, IndianRenegade said:

yet the english curator has made no official complaint on GG & others, but you will give him the benifit of doubt. And the rregulation you are using to justify his actions is old as brown sepoy syndrome. its from 1999, try to keep up.

So apart from going on online about the sheer injustics of it all, make some positive suggestions of what you think India should actually do if they genuinely feel they  have been unfairly denied access  ? Lodge a protest, pull out of the test, ask for the groundsman to be fired ( not going to happen) ? What ? If they take it seriously enough to take some action something I will acknowledge this is an issue that was worth getting worked up about.

I am going to the Oval on Thursday and I want to watch the teams compete on the field not have the TM waste preparation time on many versions of the coach  vs racist groundsman saga. I can understand that the media will keep that story going though

[IndianRenegade]

8 minutes ago, lemsip said:

So apart from going on online about the sheer injustics of it all, make some positive suggestions of what you think India should actually do if they genuinely feel they  have been unfairly denied access  ? Lodge a protest, pull out of the test, ask for the groundsman to be fired ( not going to happen) ? What ? If they take it seriously enough to take some action something I will acknowledge this is an issue that was worth getting worked up about.

I am going to the Oval on Thursday and I want to watch the teams compete on the field not have the TM waste preparation time on many versions of the coach  vs racist groundsman saga. I can understand that the media will keep that story going though

wasn't it my entire point? this is how I ended my first response:

 

1 hour ago, IndianRenegade said:

while this could have been handled without swearing, if the indian team's version is true, this needs be made big. refusing access to inspect the pitch is cheating.

 

I of course belive india should escalate it if they were indeed refused access.

[The Realist]

Gambhir doing a Mourinho by sparking an incident so he becomes the focus hence taking spotlight & pressure off the team 

[test fan]

It’s a shame that some toxic fan clubs are targeting Gautam Gambhir even when he’s fighting against the so-called ‘white supremacy’ mindset that is deep-rooted in England cricket. 

 

Gambhir gave it back to Oval’s curator Lee Fortis when he tried to interfere in India’s practise sessions and made an attempt to dictate terms to Indian cricketers. 

 

It doesn’t matter whether you are a Gautam gambhir fan or not, because he’s not fighting for himself, he’s fighting for the respect of Indian cricket team and Indian cricketers .

[vvvslaxman]

This kind of helps Gauti by taking the attention away from his goddawful team selection.

Edited July 29, 2025 by vvvslaxman

[kosingh]

In his mind Gambhir probably felt like a Lagaan character fighting against a British colonizer 

[Strangering]

Gambhir stepped over the line here. Can't say things like "You're just a groundsman. Stay in your capacity". Have some manners, this is not a spat you have in your chawl. 

 

Gambhir is classless. driven by anger and ego.

[Strangering]

28 minutes ago, test fan said:

It’s a shame that some toxic fan clubs are targeting Gautam Gambhir even when he’s fighting against the so-called ‘white supremacy’ mindset that is deep-rooted in England cricket. 

 

Gambhir gave it back to Oval’s curator Lee Fortis when he tried to interfere in India’s practise sessions and made an attempt to dictate terms to Indian cricketers. 

 

It doesn’t matter whether you are a Gautam gambhir fan or not, because he’s not fighting for himself, he’s fighting for the respect of Indian cricket team and Indian cricketers .

The words of choice matter.

[Lord]

48 minutes ago, test fan said:

It’s a shame that some toxic fan clubs are targeting Gautam Gambhir even when he’s fighting against the so-called ‘white supremacy’ mindset that is deep-rooted in England cricket. 

 

Gambhir gave it back to Oval’s curator Lee Fortis when he tried to interfere in India’s practise sessions and made an attempt to dictate terms to Indian cricketers. 

 

It doesn’t matter whether you are a Gautam gambhir fan or not, because he’s not fighting for himself, he’s fighting for the respect of Indian cricket team and Indian cricketers .

Nice try GG. Also mention common man

[Suhaan]

2 hours ago, Lord said:

Nice try GG. Also mention common man

Aam Awammm guthliyon ke daam

 

 

[Gollum]

I don't mind our people holding their ground against goras, but problem with us is we often resort to classist bakchodi.

 

On this forum, when Jaiswal makes a mistake, we see pani puri jibes...that kid has gone from such humble origins (lived in tents for many years to be near the Maidaan) to a record breaking player representing his country, most if not all of us won't ever make a name in our field like Jaiswal has in his, despite our privilege, headstart, stable/supporting family or environment.

 

Even PM Modi isn't spared, people use chaiwallah taunts to mock him, instead of appreciating the hustle, hard work, mental toughness behind his rise to becoming a democratically elected PM of 1.5 billion people......his critics can't even command respect or take leadership roles in their housing societies and clubs.

 

Dignity of labour is missing in desi society,  most of these pani puri sellers, chaiwallahs are honest folks working hard to make ends meet, in a system which doesn't provide fair opportunities to all. Give me those kind of people any day over billionaire/millionaire fraudsters who game the system to exploit the common man. 

 

Same applies to groundsmen, curators, markers...how many here know Nathan Lyon was a groundsman at Adelaide Oval before his debut? Bloke has close to 600 test wickets now. Even otherwise, groundmen (like Fortis) must have gone through the grind for many years to get the responsibility of maintaining an iconic venue like Oval. Got to show basic human decency, what does GG mean 'just a groundsman'? You see the greatest of tennis players show kindness and grace to ball boys/girls, line refs, groundstaff who work so hard whole day to make things go smoothly. 

Edited July 30, 2025 by Gollum

[Gollum]

Besides why would you go out of your way to antagonize a person who holds keys to the fortune of the final test and series?

 

Why not surrender your ego, keep your mouth shut and raise your discontent through other channels? I am sure there are other ways to lodge protests, and those can be done after the match also, via backdoor channels, involving BCCI. Or maybe had he kept quiet, after an hour he might have calmed down and realized his anger was misplaced. He claims to be a fan of Indian army, first rule all cadets get is 'don't sweat the small stuff'. 

[Zero_Unit]

14 hours ago, Chakdephatte said:

"You are just a groundsman" is problematic and can land him in trouble. Don't know how some are defending it. Under no circumstances is it acceptable.

Bro thinks he is above god. If there is one Indian player that I never liked is this midget. No matter what he does be it positive/negative, bro geniuenly pisses me off. 

[Gollum]

People who get swayed by GG's patriotic image, I would like to remind you that he was doing cricket commentary in Indore when Parliament was in session, became news because that day they were discussing Delhi's air pollution crisis and this guy was East Delhi MP, marked absent. Parliament has 3 sessions in a year, sum total meets for hardly 60 days annually. I can understand a member being absent if there are health reasons, family problems, govt delegation tours abroad, but cricket commentary? Also GG was elected MP (not a Presidential nomination to RS like Sachin, Mary Kom, Rekha, Javed Akhtar, Sudha Murthy etc.), he clearly chose that role....his attendance was 60%, dropping to 20-25% in some sessions.....below national average of 80 (much maligned Owaisi has 93% attendance, now in his 5th term, 100% in more than half the sessions he has been part of). Number of questions, number of debates, private member's bills, GG is far below national average in each and every single metric. Imagine having worse numbers than an average MP in India !!!!!

 

https://prsindia.org/mptrack/17-lok-sabha/gautam-gambhir

 

Basically people like him play the patriotism, desh ki izzat, army cards for their own selfish reasons, to maintain a certain image and gain favors because of that. And we have seen how this has worked for this charlatan. 

 

Whatever transpired here, don't for a moment think GG was taking a stand for anything but himself. His fragile ego probably got a reality check, and like a petulant baby responded in the most childish way imaginable. 

Edited July 30, 2025 by Gollum

[New guy]

5 minutes ago, Gollum said:

People who get swayed by GG's patriotic image, I would like to remind you that he was doing cricket commentary in Indore when Parliament was in session, became news because that day they were discussing Delhi's air pollution crisis and this guy was East Delhi MP, marked absent. Parliament has 3 sessions in a year, sum total meets for hardly 60 days annually. I can understand a member being absent if there are health reasons, family problems, govt delegation tours abroad, but cricket commentary? Also GG was elected MP (not a Presidential nomination to RS like Sachin, Mary Kom, Rekha, Javed Akhtar, Sudha Murthy etc.), he clearly chose that role....his attendance was 60%, dropping to 20-25% in some sessions.....below national average of 80 (much maligned Owaisi has 93% attendance, now in his 5th term, 100% in more than half the sessions he has been part of). Number of questions, number of debates, private member's bills, far below national average in each and every single metric. Imagine having worse numbers than an average MP in India !!!!!

 

https://prsindia.org/mptrack/17-lok-sabha/gautam-gambhir

 

Basically people like him play the patriotism, desh ki izzat, army cards for their own selfish reasons, to maintain a certain image and gain favors because of that. And we have seen how this has worked for this charlatan. 

This one is also to distract from the obvious questions coming about the Asia cup.

[Gollum]

7 minutes ago, New guy said:

This one is also to distract from the obvious questions coming about the Asia cup.

Also his own ineptness ever since he took charge as coach. Team is performing like this despite him, GG should be fired just for his disastrous team selection and tactics....forget results also. 

 

Our media, fans love this kind of grandstanding....deshbhakt coach standing tall against racist, bully goras in their den. May help take focus away from his inadequacies. 

[lemsip]

3 minutes ago, Gollum said:

Our media, fans love this kind of grandstanding....deshbhakt coach standing tall against racist, bully goras in their den. May help take focus away from his inadequacies. 

The grandstanding and the youtube media circus following the Indian team these days is a toxic combination. The most irrelevant issue is blown out of all proportion and made into a "fighting for the common man" narrative. As usual the focus is all on Gambhir who generates viral clips out of thin air based on fights he picks with anyone available. If he were actually doing a good job in his main role it could be tolerated but he is regularly messing up team selection and bowling  strategy.

India would be better served by a sober coach who keeps out of the limelight and actually knows how to do the job he is being paid for. 

 

[sage]

 

[NameGoesHere]

The problem I see isn’t the offence likely given by the groundsman, but the magnitude of Gambhir’s response.  
 

We’ve all faced work situations where  someone is out of line.

 

In such a situation you don’t step back - be as sharp as you want but

respond professionally.
 

You don’t need to yell and go tere kapde phaad doonga nuclear.