Indore, March 16: After a 80-day wait, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)'s pitch committee, led by Kapil Dev, visited the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium today to investigate the causes of the abandoned one-day international between India and Sri Lanka here on December 25 last year.According to Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) sources Kapil will submit his report to the Board within a week.
The committee -- Kapil Dev, Ashok Malhotra, Kasturirangan, Dheeraj Parsana, Daljit Singh and Vinod Mathur -- also recorded statements of MPCA secretary Dr MK Bhargava, curator of the controversial wicket and international umpire, Narendra Menon and his assistant Samander Singh. The committee members spent about 30 minutes in the stadium. They enquired about the watering, security and the grass on the pitch, which had grown because of unseasonal rains here.
They also saw the wicket on which a 25-overs-a-side exhibition match was played on the same day.
Kapil, however, was tight-lipped when askedwhether the committee will reach at any concrete conclusion despite their visit after a long gap. Apparently, their visit was in the wake of the recent directive by the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court to investigate into the matter and submit the report before March 26.
In case the report is not submitted, the Court had said that the presidents and secretaries of both BCCI and MPCA may have to be present individually before the court.
LEGAL ACTION AVERTED
The sudden visit of the committee is an attempt to avoid further action by the court, feel sources as Kapil had earlier refused to visit Indore to inspect the pitch. It may be recalled that the BCCI secretary JY Lele had issued a statement that Kapil would investigate into the matter on the day, when the match was abandoned.
After Kapil's refusal, the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) had removed the fencing and security on the pitch but after the court's directive to secure the pitch the IMC has cordoned off the pitch.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
