India's second ODI with New Zealand goes ahead as planned
Saturday 28 October 2017 08:19, UK
India's cricket board has sacked an official after video footage emerged of him allegedly agreeing to tamper with the Pune pitch ahead of the second one-day international against New Zealand.
Pandurang Salgaoncar, the pitch manager at the Pune ground, was exposed during an undercover sting by India Today TV claiming he doctored the surface ahead of Wednesday's ODI.
He was initially suspended but has now been relieved of his duties.
"After reports stating an alleged malpractice from the MCA (Maharashtra State Cricket Association) pitch curator, Mr Pandurang Salgaoncar, the MCA has dismissed Mr Salgaoncar from the position of curator with immediate effect," read a BCCI statement.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has launched an investigation.
"We are investigating the allegations from Pune this morning, as with all international cricket," an ICC spokesman said.
"As with all international cricket, the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit has an ICC ACU Manager on the ground in India and we are in close contact with him.
AFP earlier reported that in a video recorded by Indian journalists posing as bookmakers, Salgaoncar describes tampering with the pitch.
He also showed the men around the Pune surface the day before the ODI, breaching rules by the International Cricket Council governing access to the pitch.
Salgaoncar, 68, was a fast bowler from Maharashtra in the 1970s before taking up the role of curator with the state association.
The match at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium went ahead as scheduled after the pitch was inspected by match referee Chris Broad, the BCCI said.
