IND vs AUS: BCCI retorts to ICC’s “poor rating” for Indore’s pitch

The decision of International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Chris Broad to label the Indore pitch for the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar series as “poor” has been challenged by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

According to information provided by TOI, the BCCI has filed an appeal with the ICC regarding Broad’s reprehensible verdict regarding the square turner at Indore. According to the ICC’s rules, an appeal like this is heard and decided by Wasim Khan, the ICC’s General Manager-Cricket, and former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who is now the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee’s chairman. However, because Ganguly is from India, the ICC member nation that has filed the protest, he will be excluded from the proceedings. As a result, Ganguly will be switched out by the ICC for this process.

India posted scores of 109 and 163 in the Test, while Australia posted scores of 197 and 78 for 1 in three days

In seven sessions, the match, which began on March 1 and ended on March 3, saw 31 wickets fall, 26 of which were taken by spinners on a vicious turner that many former cricketers criticized.

The Indian Board had until March 17 to appeal the ICC’s decision, which was two weeks after the game ended.

The fact that such an appeal has been considered before and the verdict was overturned or revised by the ICC is encouraging to the BCCI. Following an appeal from the Pakistan Cricket Board, the International Cricket Council (ICC) reexamined the “below average” rating of the Rawalpindi pitch for the England-Pakistan Test last year. The PCB successfully appealed the ICC match referee’s description of the Rawalpindi pitch as “very flat,” arguing that the match resulted in a victory. As a result, the ground’s demerit point was revoked by the ICC.

After receiving a request in this regard from the hosting unit, the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, the BCCI challenged Broad’s verdict on the Indore pitch.

“On March 5, we had, via an email; requested the BCCI to file an appeal (against the verdict),”

MPCA CEO Rohit Pandit said from Indore.

Ahmedabad should be voted the worst pitch in the world. Right from the start with that rubbish pantomime show to the worst quality of cricket for a marquee series. What if we had lost the Delhi Test? We would be 2-1 down depending on this Test to bail us out

— Sab Changa Si (सरफरोशी की तमन्ना अब दिल में है) (@philpjg) March 13, 2023

“The pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favoring spinners from the start. The Fifth ball of the match broke through the pitch surface and continued to occasionally break the surface providing little or no seam movement and there was excessive and uneven bounce throughout the match,”

ICC match referee Chris Broad wrote in his report while announcing the verdict for the Indore pitch.

The demerits points, though, won’t prevent Indore from hosting international games in the future. 

“As per the ICC rules, if a venue gets 5 demerit points, which continue over a rolling period of 5 years, then it cannot host an international game for the next 12 months. If we don’t get any more demerits points in the next 5 years, then we are through. We just have to be doubly cautious about a pitch when we host a Test the next time,”

Pandit explained.