Skipper silent on the pitch

Though his players took turns blasting the dead Green Park pitch, Indian captain Sourav Ganguly opted to keep his own counsel. ‘‘I don’t want to comment on the pitch’’, he said at the post-match press conference today. ‘‘We played on whatever the curators gave us.’’

Strange, he was told, given that the host captain usually has a say in the kind of pitch to be used in a Test. Again a deadpan reply. ‘‘You’ve seen what happened at Nagpur when the captain tries to have an opinion, that’s all I have to say on the issue.’’

However, it seems the captain’s unspoken displeasure about the pitches has reached the ears of BCCI. Board secretary SK Nair, while announcing the team for the next Test, said the pitches issue would be on the agenda at the BCCI AGM later this month.

The BCCI, he added, planned to hold a training programme for curators in the future.

Ganguly hearing
		• The Indian captain will be flying to Delhi for a teleconference with the Kiwi Appeals Commissioner Tim Castle on Thursday in connection with his two-Test ban over slow rates. He’s hired top barrister Siddhartha Shankar Ray to present his case against the ICC punishment. Castle has the power to increase, decrease or amend the penalty. BCCI secretary SK Nair said the Board’s lawyer Ushanath Banerjee will participate at the teleconference.