RANCHI TEST

Kohli won't have a say on the Ranchi pitch: JSCA curator

Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on Sat, 11 Mar, 2017, 07:32 AM

The curator wants the match to last for five days as a good advertisement for Ranchi as Test venue © BCCI

The Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA), which is going to host the third Test between India and Australia from Thursday (March 11), has denied reports that it will let India skipper Virat Kohli choose the pitch for the crucial tie.

Talking to TOI from Ranchi, chief curator SB Singh said, "It's true that we have prepared three pitches -No. 4, 5 & 7 for the match.But I have never said anything about Kohli being allowed to have his say on the pitch for the match."

An Australian newspaper on Friday quoted Singh as saying that the three pitches at the JSCA International Stadium were of three different type and he would let Kohli decide which one suited his team most. Singh claimed that the report was not true. JSCA secretary Debashis Chakraborty said, "SB Singh is right. We have nine pitches here at the stadium of which three have been prepared for this Test as is the norm with any other association hosting a Test match. Once the officials come here, they will choose which pitch to play on. All the three pitches on offer have been used this season."

Charaborty said since this will be the first Test match in Ranchi, the association wants it to be a five-day affair. "Whether the pitch is flat or a turner, will only be known when the match is played. Generally in the ODIs, the par score here is 250 and the pitch provides turn as the game progresses. Since it is the first Test the city is going to host, we would like it to be a five-day affair."

© TNN

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