Wankhede curator lodges complaint against Ravi Shastri over verbal abuse

The Shastri-Naik pitch fiasco continues

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has received a written complaint from Sudhir Naik, curator of Wankhede stadium about Ravi Shastri’s misdemeanour on Monday. He has alleged that the Indian team director and bowling Coach Bharat Arun had an unnecessary outburst after India lost to South Africa in the One-Day International (ODI) series decider at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. 

"We have received a complaint from Naik alleging two members of India support staff getting involved in a heated exchange with the MCA curators after the Wankhede ODI," MCA joint secretary Unmesh Khanvilkar said to ESPNCricinfo. The MCA managing committee, in its next meeting, will decide whether to forward the letter to the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI).

Naik submitted his written application to MCA Vice-President Dilip Vengsarkar on Monday. It was reported that the incident took place on Sunday night after India suffered a humiliating defeat against South Africa to lose the series 3-2. 

After India's second biggest defeat in terms of runs, Shastri is understood to have taunted Naik, saying "great wicket," and he allegedly followed that with an expletive, which led to a heated exchange. The team director, however, denied that he used the expletive.

The issue is believed to have cropped up on the eve of the match. The Team India support staff was reportedly not happy with the way the MCA had prepared a batting pitch for the fifth ODI. They had requested that the pitch be made on the slower side but the MCA instead used a heavy roller twice on the day before the game.

The Indian team management had already decided they will play three spinners as they thought the Wankhede pitch would offer more help to the slow bowlers. However, when they saw the pitch on Saturday evening, Shastri and Arun were angry and allegedly requested Naik to pour more water so that the wicket gets damp. It is learnt that Naik and his team didn’t follow the instruction. Later, when India lost the game, Arun and Shastri had a war of words with Naik. 

The BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said the facts had to be ascertained. "We need to look at the details first, we can't straightaway go to the action," he said. "As for the BCCI taking action against anyone, whether it is a player or a member of the support staff, if you remember the incident in Australia (talking of Kohli abusing a journalist) and in the last six months we have made it very clear that the rules and regulations are equal for everyone. The same yardstick will follow in every case," Thakur concluded.