BCCI pitch committee opts for flat pitches

The pitch committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India has asked the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) to prepare a flat pitch helpful to batsmen for the first Test between India and Australia to be held at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from February 27 to March 3.

The decision to prepare a batsmen friendly pitch was taken after BCCI pitch committee members Kasturi Rangan and Dhiraj Parsana discussed the issue with the selection committee chairman Chandu Borde and India's first foreign coach John Wright of New Zealand last week, according to an MCA official in Mumbai on Thursday.

Though the Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly has asked for turning tracks, the BCCI is bent upon preparing flat pitches for the three Test matches with a view to counter the visitors' supremacy in both pace and spin departments, the official added.

The board has also decided not to involve Ganguly while selecting the type of pitches. Only Wright and Borde will decide on this matter and convey their decision to the curators as to what kind of wickets should be prepared.