Sourav Ganguly may have to recuse himself from the body which will look into the sanction imposed by International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Chris Broad on the Indore pitch once the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decides to file an appeal.

The ICC on Friday rated the pitch for the third Test, which India lost to Australia by nine wickets, as “poor” and also imposed three demerit points on the Holkar Stadium. The BCCI has 14 days to challenge the verdict.

It was learnt that men’s cricket committee chairman, Sourav, and ICC’s general manager (cricket), Wasim Khan, form the two-member panel to look into such appeals. But if there’s a clash of interest, one needs to delegate responsibility.

Sourav has been a former India captain and the immediate-past president of the BCCI and could have to excuse himself. Another member from the cricket committee will then join Khan on the panel.

The demerit points will remain active for a rolling fiveyear period. When a venue accumulates at least five demerit points, it will be suspended from hosting any international cricket for a period of 12 months, while 10 demerit points will mean that it cannot stage any international cricket for 24 months.

The panel comprising Sourav and Khan had in January decided to rescind the demerit point imposed on the Rawalpindi pitch for the Test against England.

Khan, who was the Pakistan Cricket Board chief executive before he joined the ICC and is a British citizen, however, remained part of the panel which passed the verdict on the Rawalpindi wicket.

Indore hosted the Test at short notice once Dharamsala’s outfield was found to be unfit after being relaid.

Taylor calls track poor

Melbourne: Former Australian captain Mark Taylor has come down hard on the three pitches used for the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, alleging that some amount of “skullduggery” must have been involved in the preparation of such tracks.

“I definitely think the pitches have been poor for the series, to be totally honest, and obviously the Indore one was the worst of the three. I don’t believe a pitch should be going through the top on day I,” he was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald.

“You might understand that on Day IV or V... but not Day I. I thought Indore was a very poor pitch.”

PTI