Pitch important, not a fancy stadium: Pawar

New Delhi:

A day after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was left red-faced as the fifth ODI between Sri Lanka and India had to be abandoned due to poor pitch conditions, a two-member inquiry committee is being set up to look into the fiasco. (In Pics: Kotla ODI abandoned)

The nation watched stunned as the match was abandoned on Sunday after 24 overs had been bowled with guests Sri Lanka complaining that the pitch was dangerous. What made it worse was that this was the Kotla pitch in the national capital. Irate spectators turned violent at the ground and the entire Delhi and District Cricket Association pitch committee resigned later in the day. (Read: Poor Kotla pitch leads to ODI abandonment)

International Cricket Council (ICC) vice president Sharad Pawar has also spoken out on the issue saying it's the ground and pitch that matter the most, not a fancy stadium.

After the ICC receives the match referee's full report on the incident, it will write to the BCCI within five days demanding an explanation for the incident.

The BCCI will have 14 days to respond to the ICC. If ICC decides the pitch was sub-standard, penalties can range from a warning to a fine or suspension.

Match Referee Alan Hurst had issued a statement after the match was abandoned on Sunday. He said:

"The decision to abandon the match was taken by myself, in consultation with the on-field umpires Marais Erasmus and Shavir Tarapore, and both captains as it was clear that the pitch had extremely variable bounce and was too dangerous for further play.

"Before abandoning the match, consideration was given to shifting the match to a secondary pitch. However, it was deemed impractical as the secondary pitch was not adequately prepared," Hurst said in his statement.