BCCI Appeals Against ICC's 'Poor' Rating to Indore Pitch, Wants it to be Downgraded to 'Below Average': Report

The BCCI has shot off a letter to the ICC to reconsider its ‘poor’ rating of the Indore pitch that hosted the third Test of the India vs Australia series. Hours after the conclusion of the contest inside three days, the ICC match referee Chris Broad gave his rating on the pitch while also adding three demerit points which will remain active for a five-year rolling period and should it accumulate a couple of more demerit points, the Holkar Stadium will be suspended from hosting any international match for a period of 12 months.

As per a report by the Cricbuzz, the BCCI thinks that the rating was given in a haste and there’s possibility of reviewing the rating from poor to below average.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma Enjoying Test Captaincy

As per the rules, “When a venue accumulates five demerit points (or crosses that threshold), it will be suspended from hosting any international cricket for a period of 12 months, while a venue will be suspended from staging any international cricket for 24 months when it reaches the threshold of 10 demerit points.”

Last year, the ICC changed its rating of the Rawalpindi pitch that hosted a Test between Pakistan and England which the latter won following a sporting declaration. The pitch was rated ‘below average’ but the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) protested against the verdict following which a two-member committee comprising General Manager Wasim Khan and chairman of ICC Cricket Committee Sourav Ganguly accepted the appeal and said “the wicket did not warrant the ‘below average’ rating.”

31 wickets fell in just over seven sessions of the third Test in Indore which Australia won by nine wickets to cut down India’s lead to just one match.

ICC march referee Broad said the pitch didn’t provide a balance between bat and ball, and favoured spinners from the start.

Also Read: ‘I Don’t Think There Was Any Monkey on Virat Kohli’s Back’

“The pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favouring 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,” Broad was quoted as saying by the ICC..

Get the latest Cricket News here