Manjrekar hits out at Shastri over pitch fiasco

Mumbai: The Mumbai Cricket Association’s managing committee will discuss Wankhede Stadium curator Sudhir Naik’s complaint of verbal abuse against Indian Team Director Ravi Shastri on October 30 here. Shastri’s remarks have upset 70-year-old Naik. Naik, feeling offended reminded Ravi that he too has been a Test cricketer and that he should not be giving him lessons on wicket preparations. Naik could possibly lodge an official complaint with Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI). Indian team managed to score a total of 224. However, when they saw the pitch on Saturday evening, Shastri and Arun were angry and allegedly requested Naik to pour more water so that the wicket gets damp. It remains to be seen what action the MCA takes. The controversy is another unwanted controversy for Team India, which is still reeling from the embarrassing loss on home turf.

On Monday, while speaking to journalists, Thakur said that Standard Operating Procedure would be followed in this case, as it had been when India’s Test captain Virat Kohli was accused of abusing a journalist in Perth during the World Cup, earlier this year.

Mumbai: Taking a cautious stand on Ravi Shastri’s outburst against Wankhede Stadium curator, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said that the board needs to first look into the details of the incident before taking drastic action against anyone.

“We will look into the details of the team director allegedly confronting the Wankhede curator yesterday. While Ravi has denied using abusive language, but Sudhir said that he did so it’s one person’s version versus the other”, Gavaskar told an English channel.