Sourav Ganguly’s biopic starring Rajkummar Rao was linked to this pitch issue that saw Leicestershire lose 27 points and face a £5,000 fine.
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Rajkummar Rao will play lead role in Dada: The Sourav Ganguly Story.
Leicestershire have been hit with a major penalty after the pitch used for their County Championship match against Glamorgan was rated “poor” by match officialsInterestingly, an unscheduled Bollywood film shoot linked to a biopic on former India captain Sourav Ganguly, which stars Rajkummar Rao in the lead role, was cited as one of the reasons behind the condition of the surface.
However, the Cricket Discipline Panel did not accept the filming as a mitigating factor and imposed a total 27-point deduction on the English county clubLeicestershire have also been fined £5,000 and have 10 days to appeal the decision.
What happened at Grace Road?
Leicestershire hosted Glamorgan at Grace Road from August 20 to 23The home side won the match by 42 runs, but the pitch attracted attention because of its uneven bounce.
The Cricket Discipline Panel upheld the Cricket Regulator’s charge of a “poor pitch”Leicestershire lost the 19 points they had earned from the victory, while another eight-point penalty was added.
Match referee Ian Ramage recorded 43 examples of uneven bounce in his match logThe tribunal later said the surface had problems caused by “moving cracks”.
How did the Ganguly biopic shoot come into the picture?
Callum Lewin, Leicestershire’s head groundsman, told the Cricket Regulator that several factors had affected the pitch before the Glamorgan match.
The surface had already been used for two T20 matches around 10 weeks earlierLewin also pointed to hot weather, with temperatures reaching 35 degrees, and a Bollywood filming event held four days before the match.
“It’s a used pitch this time aroundWe had two T20s on it 10 weeks agoThere were a lot of circumstances leading up to the game that were just out of my control, such as the weather was 35 degrees.
“We also had an unscheduled Bollywood filming event four days before (the match vs Glamorgan), and I wasn’t allowed to work on the pitchI wasn’t allowed to cover it or anything,” Lewin told the Cricket Regulator.
The film shoot was reportedly for a biopic on Sourav Ganguly, with Rajkummar Rao set to play the former India captainThe shoot took place at Grace Road for one day.
Why was the film shoot not accepted?
Despite Lewin highlighting the filming as one of the reasons behind the pitch problems, the disciplinary panel did not consider it a mitigating factor.
The panel noted that the shooting lasted only one day and took place four days before the matchIt therefore concluded that Leicestershire should have managed the pitch preparation differently despite the circumstances.
The tribunal found that the club had not deliberately produced a poor surfaceHowever, it ruled that Leicestershire’s method of preparing the pitch was “unreasonable”.
Leicestershire now face relegation battle
The punishment has put Leicestershire under serious pressure in Division OneTheir 19 points from the Glamorgan win have been removed, while the club has also received the additional eight-point sanction and £5,000 fine.
Leicestershire said they are reviewing the decision and considering their available options.
“The Club notes the Cricket Discipline Panel’s decision, which imposes an eight-point deduction, an additional eight-point deduction suspended until the end of the 2027 season, and a financial penalty of 5,000 pounds.
“Having received the Panel’s decision, the Club is reviewing its position and considering all available options,” the club said in a statement.
The club now have 10 days to appealWith their Division One survival also at stake, the penalty has added another major challenge to Leicestershire’s season.
