Ex-BCCI secy Shirke calls for CBI inquiry into ‘pitch fixing’

“Ever since IPL spot fixing, the whole Board has been thrown out. Now let us see what steps the COA takes to get to the root of pitch fixing.

MUMBAI: 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.

Shirke, also the former president of Maharashtra Cricket Association 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. 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.

The Test between England and West Indies was abandoned after just 10 balls because the bowlers were unable to get any solid foothold in a sandy outfield. Alan Hurst, the match referee, ruled: “The ground conditions, and especially the bowlers’ run-ups, were unfit and potentially dangerous.”