ENG vs IND 2025: 'Still living in the 1947 era' - Irfan Pathan backs Gautam Gambhir over Oval groundsman row

The controversial episode between India head coach Gautam Gambhir with Lee Fortis, one of the ground staff at the Oval, London ahead of the fifth Test between England and India has been doing the rounds in the media ever since. In a clip that had surfaced on the social media, Gambhir was seen schooling the groundsman for not letting him stay near the pitch, where the upcoming match will be played.

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has come to support his former teammate, saying that Gambhir was absolutely within his rights to go and stand near the 22-yards. In fact, Pathan has slammed the groundsman to have even thought of doing something like he did a couple of days ahead of the game, while English players were freely allowed to roam on the surface, as seen on the pictures online.

“This curator has a history of being rude. There are several instances of him being behaving in such a way with overseas teams’ captains and coaches. This isn’t the first time. The process of Gambhir being villainized has been going on in the media for a long time now.” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

Looking at the pictures of English players and coaching staff stand on the pitch ahead of the contest, the Baroda-born found it ironic on how only Indian team was not allowed to go near. Pathan further believes that it was important for Gambhir to go near the pitch to assess the hardness of the surface, and whether the pitch is dry or has a lot of moisture, which could directly impact the playing combination for the match starting July 31.

“We end up laying the red carpet for the visiting teams in India. When we go overseas, we follow the rules, and it’s something nobody should have a problem with. There’s a photo on Twitter of the same curator standing with Brendon McCullum (England coach) on the same pitch two days before a match. Gambhir also went two days before. How can you then deny him? England’s coach is allowed, but not Indian. It feels we are still living in the 1947 era. I cannot accept this (double-standard). If you don't get to inspect the pitch, how will you plan for the game? You have to get a feel of the pitch by touching it – how hard it is, is there moisture in it? You can’t have that by staring from 2.5 meters. This was an unnecessary controversy,” he added.

England make four changes for fifth game

The upcoming match will see England enter the contest without the likes of their mainstay skipper Ben Stokes and ace pacer Jofra Archer. Apart from the duo, the hosts have made two additional changes, which has sort of revamped their bowling attack for the summit clash of the series. Ollie Pope will be captaining the side for this game.