There have erroneous media reports that India will lose three World Test Championship (WTC) points if the Ahmedabad pitch is rated ‘poor’. 

Let’s examine this closely by starting with the ICC WTC rules

According to the ICC WTC rules in the playing conditions document, section 16.10.3 states, “If a match is abandoned and the pitch and/or outfield is ultimately rated as ‘Unfit’ under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, points for that match shall be distributed on the basis that the visiting team won the match and the home team lost the match. Any abandoned match will be classified as a drawn match for statistical purposes“

This means that according to the WTC rules, for the points for the Ahmedabad test to be awarded to England instead of India, the match would 1. Have to be abandoned and/or2. The Pitch would have to be declared unfit according to the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.

Next, let’s examine the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process

Under the Test Pitch Rating section, it clearly states that “A pitch may be rated ‘unfit’ if it is dangerous.”

The last time a pitch was delclared “unfit” was more than a decade ago, in 2009. The venue in question was New Delhi’s Feroze Shah Kotla stadium. An ODI between India and Sri Lanka was abandoned after just 23.3 overs. The ball was bouncing from shin-length to shoulder length from the same areas of the pitch. So the pitch was considered too dangerous for players to continue playing due to the uneven bounce.

At no point was the Ahmedabad pitch considered dangerous to fielders, batsmen or bowlers. So there is no case to be made for India losing WTC points or for those points to be awarded to England. Unless India loses the last test match, it will be in the WTC final.

Also read: Why Virat Kohli felt the third Test against England at Motera was a ‘bizarre game’

In order for the Ahmedabad pitch to be declared poor, the following conditions will need to be met according to Appendix A of the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.

“A
Poor pitch is one that does not allow an even contest between bat and ball,
either by favouring the batters too much, and not giving the bowlers (seam and
spin) from either team sufficient opportunity to take wickets, or by favouring
the bowlers too much (seam or spin), and not giving the batters from either
team the opportunity to make runs. 

If any of the following
criteria apply, a pitch may be rated “poor”: –

·       
The pitch offers excessive seam movement at
any stage of the match

·       
The
pitch displays excessive unevenness of bounce for any bowler at any stage of
the match

·       
The
pitch offers excessive assistance to spin bowlers, especially early in the
match

·       
The
pitch displays little or no seam movement or turn at any stage in the match
together with no significant bounce or carry, thereby depriving the bowlers of
a fair contest between bat and ball.

·       
The
pitch displays excessive moisture making its playing characteristics
unpredictable, or excessive dryness leading to the surface to deteriorate.

If the Ahmedabad pitch is considered poor, then 3 demerit points will be imposed upon the venue. In a 5 year span, if the venue accumulates more than 5 demerit points, it will have its accreditation to host test matches suspended for a year. This is a possible outcome if the match referee assesses that the quality of the Ahmedabad pitch meets the criteria above.

Thus, the only three points to be lost even if the Ahmedabad pitch is considered “poor” by the ICC will be by the venue, and not by India in the World Test Championship points table.