World Cup Final: ICC Pitch Consultant Atkinson Returns Home As BCCI Curators Monitor Preparations

Rohit Sharma inspects pitch ahead of final.

What will be ICC pitch consultant Andy Atkinson's future was a question floating around as the burly New Zealander was nowhere to be seen during pitch preparation 48 hours ahead of the World Cup final between India and Australia.

It is learnt that Atkinson had already left the country as his assignment is already over. (Rohit Sharma Inspects Pitch At Narendra Modi Stadium's Pitch At Ahmedabad Ahead Of Big Final, Photo Goes Viral)

"Andy's assignment is over and he has gone back. Don't try to find controversy where there is none. Nowhere it is written that ICC's pitch consultant need to be present before final," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Atkinson exactly isn't a favourite with BCCI brass after accusing the host nation of changing track for the semifinal between India and New Zealand from a fresh to a used one.

However, the ICC later sent a clarification that there is no such rule of holding knock-out matches on a fresh track and Atkinson was apprised of the development in advance. (Indian Fans React As Umpire Richard Kettleborough Set To Officiate In India Vs Australia Final Of Cricket World Cup 2023, Here's Why They Are Unhappy)

On November 17, the two senior BCCI's chief of ground staff Ashish Bhowmick and his second in command Taposh Chatterjee, along with former India seamer and BCCI's GM (Domestic Cricket) Abbey Kuruvilla, closely monitored the pitch preparations for the mega final on November 19.

It couldn't be confirmed if the track used for the final is a used one or fresh surface but the two senior curators and BCCI GM monitored the use of heavy roller on the designated 22-yard strip. "If heavy roller is being used on a black soil strip then the idea is to create a slow batting track where you can get a big score but you possibly can't consistently hit through the line. 315 could be a defendable score as batting second will be difficult," a state association curator explained.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma along with first team regulars KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja had an extensive net session, with reserve players Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin and Prasidh Krishna for company.

As it has been the custom, Rohit and Dravid spent a considerable amount of time looking at the track and also had extensive discussions with Bhowmick and Chatterjee.