Curator hoses down pitch controversy

The chief curator in Ranchi has hosed down claims India captain Virat Kohli will select the pitch for the crucial third Test between India and Australia starting on Thursday.

SB Singh, the chief curator at Ranchi's JSCA International Stadium, told the Indian Express this week that he has produced three pitches for the venue's maiden Test match and that the "team" will select the wicket that will be used.

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However, Singh says he was misinterpreted.

"It's true that we have prepared three pitches – No.4, 5 and 7 – for the match," Singh told Times of India.

"But I have never said anything about Kohli being allowed to have his say on the pitch for the match."

The "team" Singh was referring too was not India nor Kohli but the officials.

"SB Singh is right," said JSCA secretary Debashis Chakraborty. "We have nine pitches here at the stadium and of which three have been prepared for this Test as is the norm with any other association hosting a Test match.

"Once the officials come here they will choose which pitch to play on.

"All the three pitches on offer have been used this season."

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Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India reportedly disagrees with ICC match referee Chris Broad's 'poor' rating of the first Test pitch in Pune.

The match finished inside three days with left-armer Stephen O'Keefe spinning Australia to a 333-run victory with match figures of 12-70.

The pitch immediately drew criticism, with former Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne likening the wicket to the "surface of Mars". 

"That wasn't a poor pitch," A BCCI official told Times of India. "The Aussies scored 260 and 285 on it, after all.

"The definition of a poor pitch is that there's uneven bounce, and batsmen are getting hurt. Did that happen in Pune?

"I agree the match ended early, India scored few runs (105 and 107), but Steve Smith scored a ton in the second innings, and KL Rahul scored a fifty.

"If a pitch doesn't turn in the subcontinent, then where will it?

"We beg to differ... this isn't a poor track. We disagree with Broad's observation on the pitch.

"To term the Pune wicket as poor is harsh."

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A BCCI official pointed out that wickets that spin prodigiously from ball one are often described as bad but when wickets provide dramatic assistance to seam bowling – like the 2015 Ashes Test at Trent Bridge where Australia were bowled out for 60 in 18.3 overs –  it's the batsmen's techniques that get criticised and not the surface.

The ICC will now review the footage of the Pune Test before making a final decision on whether to impose a penalty for a substandard pitch, which could be as little as a warning or a maximum fine of USD$15,000.

While the first Test last three days and the second Test four, Chakraborty is hopeful the third Test at Ranchi will go the distance.

"Whether the pitch is flat or a turner, will only be known when the match is played," Chakraborty said.

"Generally in the ODIs, the par score here is 250 and the pitch provides turn as the game progresses.

"Since it is the first Test the city is going to host, we would like it to be a five-day affair."

Test Squads

India (for third and fourth Tests): Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandaran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund.

Australia: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Stephen O'Keefe, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade

Australia's schedule in India

Feb 23-27, First Test, Pune - Australia won by 333 runs.

Mar 4-8, Second Test, Bengaluru - India won by 75 runs.

Mar 16-20, Third Test, Ranchi

Mar 25-29, Fourth Test, Dharamsala