Reports: Senior curator accused of altering nature of Chennai pitch for the 1st India vs England Test last year

In a shocking development relating to the India vs England series last year, it has come to light that the chief curator at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai altered the pitch for the first Test, which proceeded to backfire on the home side's strategy.

According to a report published in the Times of India, the Indian team-management had specifically asked the curator not to water the pitch or employ a roller for it on the eve of the 1st India vs England Test.

However, the report claims that after coach Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun left the ground, the curator told the groundsmen that he had been asked by a 'higher authority' to water the pitch and roll it.

The report quotes people who were, allegedly, present at the venue of the first two India vs England Tests of the series, as saying:

"Ravi Shastri and Bharat Arun were at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk on the evening of February 4, a day before the start of the Test against England. The head coach and the bowling coach explicitly told the curator and the groundsmen that the pitch should be left the way it is, and the water and roller should not be used."

The report continues:

Having conveyed it with absolute clarity, they left the stadium with the rest of the team. He (curator) watered the pitch, brought out the roller, and the next morning, the wicket was a 'paata' (flat deck)."

Those who were severely affected by the decision are willing to come out in the open, should the BCCI decide to investigate "who made the call to the curator on the eve of the match."

Ravi Shastri was, reportedly, unhappy with the curator due to the pitch he prepared for the 1st India vs England Test

India vs England 1st Test saw hosts losing by 227 runs

For the uninitiated, the pitch for the 1st India vs England Test proved to be a good batting surface, at least for the first three days. England won the toss and, on the back of a brilliant double-hundred by Joe Root (218 off 377), scored 578 runs in their first innings, eventually winning the game by 227 runs.

The 227-run defeat was India's first on home soil after a gap of around four years, and only their second since December 2013. As would be expected, Shastri and the entire Indian team management were miffed with the curator's decision to alter the pitch.

They subsequently placed a request to the BCCI to change the curator for the second India vs England Test.

"Ravi and Arun were absolutely livid with the curator for not heeding to the team management's instructions. It was done deliberately, and that curator clearly received a call and was asked to do this. The curator must be questioned who instructed him to act against the Indian team's best interests. It was an extremely serious misdemeanour."

In 2004, a greentop had been prepared for the crucial 3rd Test between India and Australia at Nagpur, which helped the visitors win a series in India after a long time

The unnamed sources who spoke to the newspaper about the preparation of the Chennai pitch before the India vs England series also asked:

"Who made the call to the curator? This must be investigated. This has so many layers of wrongs attached – hurting the Indian team's interests, going against the directive of the team management, outside interference in the game."

The BCCI gave in to the team-management's request and arranged for another senior curator for the next match, played on the same ground.

The pitch in the second India vs England Test was exactly in line with India's plans and the home side proceeded to hammer England by 317 runs thanks to centuries from Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin. The latter, along with Axar Patel, picked up 15 wickets as well in the match.

The India vs England Test was not the first time that a curator in India went against the perceived interests of the home side. There was the famous instance of the Nagpur Test against Australia in 2004 where a green top was prepared, much to the liking of the visitors, for the crucial third Test of the series.

The Aussies made full use of the conditions as they hammered India by over 300 runs to clinch their first series win in India since 1969.