Ex-England cricketer seeks deduction in India's WTC points if 4th Test pitch is 'poor'

Amid the ongoing controversy over the pitch prepared for the third Test, former England cricketer Monty Panesar has remarked that the ICC should deduct points from India's World Test Championship (WTC) bag, if the pitch stays the same for the final Test of the series. Earlier, former England captain Michael Vaughan had also echoed similar views as he accused that the ICC would remain a 'toothless tiger' if the BCCI continues to 'get away' with what it wants. Panesar expressed displeasure at the early finish of the third Test as India handed England a 10-wicket defeat within 2 days to go 2-1 up in the series. 

"I think if the next Test match is the same, then yes, the ICC should dock points. Everyone is delighted that cricket has now got the biggest stadium in the world now. At least the curator should have produced a good wicket, even if it is a turning wicket, everyone was complaining about Chennai, this was even worse," Monty Panesar told ANI when asked if ICC should take note of the noise over the pitches.  

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'The match should go for 3-3.5 days'

"If you are going to produce a turning wicket, at least the match should go for 3-3.5 days. India will probably produce a turning pitch, at least it should last for three days. The Indian people are saying England batsmen cannot play spin very well, if you take that into account, Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen have scored runs here, Cook has got a record as good as Matthew Hayden in India. Pietersen did score quickly, do England have that? No, they do not," he added.

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Panesar's comment comes despite England skipper Joe Root acknowledging that pitch had no part to play in their defeat but instead the batsmen had failed. The former English cricketer, however, opined that ICC will not impose any sanctions on India after the third Test as it was played with a pink ball. "To be honest with you, I can believe what the players from both the teams are saying. If you bowl it slowly, the pink ball goes quicker of the surface. Let us see how the red ball reacts, let's see if India wins again within 3-3.5 days, India's argument is going to be we can produce spinning tracks but are England batsmen going to skill levels up to the levels it needs to be?" Panesar added. 

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Batting friendly pitch for 4th Test?

Now, with the growing noise over the turning pitches and demands of deduction of India's WTC points, a BCCI official in the 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. 

"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.

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