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A bouncy pitch for politics
Ganguly has tried his best to get all the grass shaved off the Nagpur pitch, but has failed. This is being linked with the BCCI elections.
Politics and intrigue are inevitable in Indian cricket. Take the Nagpur Test and the controversy over its wicket.
Buoyed by the return of Sachin Tendulkar, India were hoping to level the series 1-1 but the grassy track in Nagpur — instead of a dust bowl — has sent the team into panic.
Captain Sourav Ganguly has tried his best to persuade the officials to get all the grass shaved off. But he has failed.
And that is a story in itself because this is being linked with the controversial Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) elections.
If allegations are to be believed, Vidharbha Cricket Association president Shashank Manohar, who belongs to the Sharad Pawar group and voted against Jagmohan Dalmiya, is doing all this deliberately.
Manohar denies this as rubbish. "I've prepared a sporting wicket, following the board guidelines issued in 2002," he says.
"We were told to make sporting wickets and we relaid our track under the supervision of Board curator Kasturirangan. If the Board wanted different wickets they should've told us in advance and issued instructions that we should follow the Indian captain's advice."