BCCI provides insight into 4th Test pitch, affirms England has not lodged any complaint

Amidst the noise over the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium in the third India-England Test, BCCI has confirmed that England has not lodged an official complaint against the wicket yet. According to reports, skipper Joe Root and England coach Chris Silverwood had met with the match referee during the third Test only to criticise the 'unusually quick' decisions by the third umpire, however, there was no mention of the pitch. 

Now, with the growing noise over the turning pitches and demands of deduction of India's WTC points, a BCCI official in privy of the developments has said that the pitch for the fourth Test can be expected to be a 'batting beauty'. With Indian being 2-1 up in the four-match Test series and midway to the final of the World Test Championship, the hosts have allegedly ruled out the possibility of having another rank turner pitch to avoid any ICC sanction. 

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'It will be a batting beauty'

"Expect a good hard surface which will be firm and even bounce. It will be a batting beauty and since its a traditional red ball match, one can expect a very high scoring contest here from March 4-8," a senior BCCI official privy to the developments told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Moreover, as per PTI sources, the BCCI and the team management has acknowledged that another dusty pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium won't be suitable for the newly-built grand stadium which is expected to host a lot of important matches during IPL as well as ICC T20 World Cup. The BCCI has also asserted that the venue cannot be judged based on the third match when it is also slated to host the last Test as well, adding that ICC will only take a decision after Javagal Srinath's match report. 

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"If there are two matches played at the same venue, you can't hold one result in isolation. Let the final Test be over and then only based on match referee Javagal Srinath's report can ICC decide its course of action. Also as of now, the England team hasn't lodged any official complaint," the BCCI official said.

Bumrah out of 4th Test

Moreover, with the WTC finale on the line, the Indian team does not want to take any risks by opting for turning pitches as they have the tendency of backfiring. Elaborating on the pitch for the pink-ball Test, the BCCI official said that the Test went well because it was more about the ball and the way it skidded rather than the pitch which many English former greats are panning. 

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The Indian team has also sustained a major blow ahead of the final Test as Jasprit Bumrah has been released from the squad due to personal reasons. While the BCCI has said that no replacements will be included, Mohammed Siraj seems to have an edge over Umesh Yadav to partner Ishant Sharma in the final game.  India needs to either win or draw the final Test of the series against England to book the finale berth at Lord's against New Zealand. If India loses the fourth match, Australia will qualify for the final of the World Test Championship in June later this year. 

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