Aabhas Sharma finds out how the Ferozeshah Kotla pitch overcame the debacle of being banned by ICC
On the morning of 27 December 2009, former India captain and now commentator Sunil Gavaskar walked in to do his pitch report at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground in New Delhi. These were his words, “It’s a hair transplant pitch with bald patches.” What happened in the next two hours was something nobody had imagined. The match between India and Sri Lanka was called off after 23.3 overs as the pitch was deemed unplayable. Heads rolled at the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) and Kotla was banned from holding international matches for a year.
But now Kotla is ready to host four World Cup matches and the pitch curators are more than confident of putting the debacle behind them. “What happened in the past did play on our minds but since then we have hosted IPL matches and there’s no anxiety on our part,” says Venkat Sundaram, head curator of the pitch. The pitch fiasco couldn't have come at a worse time for DDCA. It was peak winter and there was no sun for close to two weeks. Even if they wanted to do work on the pitch, they couldn’t do much.
What had happened then was that instead of cutting the grass on the pitch, the curators had rolled it down with heavy rollers. The blades of grass rolled back when the ball landed on them and the pitch behaved “abnormally.” Sundaram, who is also chairman of BCCI’s pitches and grounds committee, is delighted with how things have gone. “The local curators have worked really hard to take remedial measures and get the pitch in perfect condition,” he says.
DDCA had recruited it’s old curator, Radheyshyam, soon after the fiasco. Radheyshyam had been the curator for over a decade but was removed from his post a few months before December 2009. His services and knowledge about the turf came in handy in getting the pitch ready. “We would all like to forget about what happened in the past,” he says.
New grass was planted on the pitch and for months DDCA didn’t host even domestic matches at Kotla to ensure the wicket remains fresh for the World Cup. The groundsmen worked day in and day out to get the pitch in order. Laying new grass on a wicket is always a tricky proposition and they weren’t sure how it will play. So for IPL, the pitch wasn’t dug up but only the top soil of the pitch was worked upon. As for the grass, just before the pitch fiasco, DDCA had apparently put local Cynodon grass which led to the deterioration of the pitch. In 2006, special Bermuda grass was laid on the Kotla pitch. Then in 2007, carpet grass from Panchkula was imported to Delhi. However, this time the pitch curators don’t want to reveal the kind of grass that has been laid now. “We will see how the pitch plays up,” says a local groundsmen.
ICC’s chief pitch consultant, Andy Atkinson, then visited the ground in November to see a few domestic matches. In fact, the first pitch inspection took place in September post the IPL. Atkison wanted to see how the relaid pitch post IPL would hold up. Finally in December, ICC gave Kotla a clean chit to host the World Cup matches.
Apart from the pitch, Kotla has improved on its security measures with new X-ray machines. Anil Jain, joint secretary, DDCA, says that the Kotla is -fully prepared and looking forward to host the World Cup. Let’s hope the grass remains green on Kotla’s side this time around.