Wankhede curator withdraws complaint against Shastri

Sudhir Naik, the curator at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, has agreed to withdraw his complaint against India team director Ravi Shastri and bowling coach B Arun over their alleged outbursts after India were thumped by South Africa on October 25 to lose the ODI series 2-3.

A Mumbai Cricket Association press release said their vice-president Dilip Vengsarkar had met with Naik and Shastri and advised both parties to "bury the matter" that had come about as a result of a "misunderstanding."

India have been asking for pitches that suited their strength, namely slow turners. But Naik's complaint claimed he had not received any input from the team management regarding the type of surface they wanted. So a batsman-friendly track was provided and South Africa took full toll. AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis struck centuries and posted a total of 438 and dealt India their second-biggest loss in terms of runs - 214. The series was also lost 2-3.

After the match, Shastri is understood to have sarcastically complimented Naik, saying "Great wicket," and he allegedly followed that with an expletive, which led to a heated exchange. Shastri, however, denied that he used the expletive.

Naik's letter to the MCA had also mentioned that Arun had complained of the nature of the pitch and it was unnecessary for the bowling coach to have a go at Naik's assistant Rajesh Mhamunkar, who looks after the Wankhede track for all non-international matches.