Hosting its first first-class game of the season, the Kotla strip has generated such debate that it forced BCCI's chief pitch curator Daljit Singh to come to the Capital on Sunday and take matters in his hands. DDCA vice-president Chetan Chauhan said that the groundstaff was now following Daljit's instructions. "The loose grass is being removed and light roller will be used along with some sprinkling of water. We are going in with two spinners for the match," Chauhan said. For Daljit, he can only see that the pitch doesn't become unplayable even as the choice of the playing strip remains a prerogative for the home team.
Delhi captain Gautam Gambhir has been at loggerheads with the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) over the playing surface. When Gambhir opted to play on an underprepared pitch, the groundsmen started working on that particular strip. By the time Daljit arrived, a lot of work had already been done by the groundstaff.
Sources said that DDCA wanted BCCI to look at the pitch and decide if the match was possible or not. After meeting the match officials and DDCA administrators, some under-25 bowlers were asked to bowl on the pitch that had been picked by the Delhi team management. After about 40 minutes, the pitch got the nod.
However, even before the match, the blame game has gathered steam. While one faction of the DDCA has been relentlessly opposing Gambhir's ways, Gambhir has his team's backing.
Caught in the crossfire between the team management and DDCA is Chetan Chauhan, who also happens to be heading the selection committee.
DDCA curator lashes out at Gambhir
DDCA chief curator Venkat Sundaram, who has preferred to distance himself from this match, had a go at Gambhir. "If you have to fiddle with pitches so much then you don't deserve to be called a Test cricketer," fumed Sundaram.
Ranji Trophy Fixtures: Final Round Dec 30-Jan 2 (Points in bracket)
Group A: Karnataka (32) vs Delhi (19) - Delhi; Gujarat (26) vs Mumbai (23) - Valsad; Punjab (23) vs Jharkhand (9) - Dhanbad; Odisha (17) vs Haryana - Bhubneswar; Vidarbha (12) - completed; Group B: Railways (27) vs UP (23) - Lucknow; Baroda (20) vs Rajasthan (14) - Jaipur; Bengal (18) vs Tamil Nadu (18) - Chennai; Saurashtra (16) vs Services (6) - Rajkot; Madhya Pradesh (12) - completed; Group C: Maharashtra (29) vs Assam (14) - Guwahati; J&K (25) vs Tripura (1) - Agartala; Goa (22) vs Andhra (14) - Porvorim; Kerala (19) vs Hyderabad (18) - Hyderabad; Himachal (24) - completed.
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