New Delhi, December 27
It is not often that an international cricket match is abandoned because of the ‘dangerous’ pitch. But the allegedly ‘unplayable’ wicket - that was readied after six months of ‘labour’ - at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground played a spoilsport on Sunday and the Sri Lankan squad refused to continue with the fifth and the final ODI against India here today.

The controversy forced Arun Jaitley of the DDCA to apologise and the BCCI to disband the pitch committee headed by Daljit Singh. A report to the ICC could lead to a ban on Delhi as the venue for international cricket fixtures. Officials quickly went underground to hide their blushes as critics clamoured that the incident had shamed the nation and cheated spectators. How could the richest and one of the most powerful cricket bodies in the world, BCCI, make such a mess of the pitch, they rued. Notably, a large sum had been ‘paid’ to the pitch committee for preparing the wicket.

By the time the teams left for the hotel, spectators had become restive. From the members’ enclosure and the stands on the East, they began throwing bottles, seat covers, paper bags and whatever they could lay their hands on. Seats were ripped apart and flung to the ground like flying saucers. The cricket buffs had formed serpentine queues hours before the scheduled start to gain entry. They were disappointed and agitated at being short-changed by the DDCA.

Later, DDCA chief Arun Jaitley said the ticket holders would be refunded through the agencies --- internet, bank and the Ambedkar Stadium counter adjacent to the Kotla ground — from whom/where they had purchased tickets. However, the critics maintained that it was a serious lapse on part of the DDCA as the new stadium was constructed at a cost of over Rs 50 crore and was completed only last year.

The original wicket was dug up and the relaying process began six months back under the supervision of curator Daljit Singh. Interestingly, the curator said the wicket was not “dangerous or unplayable” though an odd ball might have hooded up. Former Test opener Chetan Chauhan, who had been monitoring the pitch preparation for the match, said ”some balls reared up, but the bounce was not very dangerous”.

India had thrashed Australia by seven wickets on the same pitch in the last ODI played here on October 31.If the ICC finds severe transgression on the part of the DCCA in the preparation of the pitch, Delhi can face a ban up to two years. It would automatically rule it out of the 2011 World Cup venue. ICC chief executive Arun Logart has called a press conference tomorrow to announce his verdict on Kotla.

An ODi between India and Lanka was abandoned in 1997 at Indore after just three overs were bowled when the pitch turned out to be “dangerous for play”. ICC had then slapped a two-year ban on Indore. DDCA president Arun Jaitly, without squarely owning up the lapse, said a technical committee will inquire into the pitch fiasco.

"The committee will look into every aspect of the matter. Only technical people are qualified to speak about it”, he elaborated.

Jaitley put on a brave face and said an England Under-19 team would be playing on the pitch here in a couple of days, to prove that everything was okay with the Kotla wicket.

Some years ago, when there was no proper stadium, the Australian team had remarked that Kotla was the worst cricket ground in the world, and they would never ever play here.

Former Delhi captain Kirti Azad had once famously remarked that the DDCA and Bihar could never be reformed. Bishan Singh Bedi, former India and Delhi captain, had echoed Kirti's views on DDCA. Former Test spinner Maninder Singh said he had not stepped into the DDCA for the past ten years as he could not relate to the people who run the show there, including some former players.