Now pitch-fixing in cricket? Ex-BCCI official wants CBI to probe Pune massacre

After ICC called the Pune pitch ‘poor, former BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke has demanded a CBI probe to ascertain if the wicket was doctored. India lost the first Test vs Australia inside three days and by a whopping 333 runs

Former secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Ajay Shirke, criticised the Pune pitch heavily after the maiden Test hosted on it ended within three days.

Virat Kohli pointing out marks on the pitch to on-field umpire Richard Kettleborough of New Zealand as Ravindra Jadeja looks on during third day’s play of the first Test against Australia at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Match referee Chris Broad has rated the Pune track as poor after the match finished in less than three days and India lost by 333 runs. (AFP)

Shirke, also the former president of Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) which is headquartered in Pune, termed it as ‘pitch fixing’ and demanded a CBI inquiry to get to the core of the issue.

“I would like to see a CBI inquiry being initiated by the administrators appointed by the Supreme Court. It (doctoring pitches) has often plagued Indian cricket and it is high time we to get to the root of this mess. Instead of pointing fingers at various people without any evidence, I would like to see a CBI probe to find out the real culprit. Let they (CBI) check the phone records and find out who is passing on these messages,” a furious Shirke told HT.

“(Ever) since the spot fixing (in IPL 2013) came to light, the whole Board has been thrown out. Now let us see what steps the court-appointed administrators take to get to the root of pitch fixing,” he said.

“Pune has historically prepared seaming wickets, so what has suddenly gone wrong? Was Pandurang Salgaoncar (local curator) intoxicated? Did he go mad?” asked Shirke, who came from England only to witness the historic Test match.