BCCI to counter Jeff Crowe’s report on Nagpur pitch: Report

While several cricketers criticised the Nagpur pitch, India Test captain Virat Kohli and Team Director Ravi Shastri slammed the critics.

New Delhi: In its reply to the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI) is all set to counter match referee Jeff Crowe’s report, which rated the Nagpur pitch as poor during the recently concluded India-South Africa Test series.

According to a report in The Indian Express, a board official told the newspaper that there was nothing wrong with the wicket.

“There are inconsistencies in the ICC match referee’s report. Something like ‘excessive turn’ is subjective. It is not that the report is saying there was ‘excessive turn’ on the first day itself. I don’t think there was anything wrong with the surface,” the BCCI official said on Tuesday.

The pitch used for Nagpur Test came under scanner as South Africa were skittled out for 79 runs in first innings, which was the lowest Test total ever by a team against India.

While several cricketers criticised the pitch, India Test captain Virat Kohli and Team Director Ravi Shastri slammed the critics.

“Nothing wrong with it,” Shastri had said. “I would hope the one in Delhi is absolutely the same. I have no qualms about it. It just goes to show that with the amount of ODI cricket being played, the tendency to graft, the tendency to spend long hours at the crease is diminishing,” Shastri had told ESPN Cricinfo.