ICC not in favour of World Cup ban for Kotla - Morgan

David Morgan, the ICC president, has said he is not in favour of a World Cup ban for the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi, adding that the tournament would be "poorer" without matches being hosted in India's capital city. However, he said the "appropriate" decision on the Kotla pitch issue would be taken by experts.

The ICC match referee Alan Hurst is reported to have classified the Kotla pitch used in the abandoned fixture between India and Sri Lanka last month as "unfit", the harshest possible assessment.

This has raised fears of a possible ban that could extend up to the World Cup, scheduled to be held in the subcontinent in early 2011.

"I'm not at all sure if such a ban would be appropriate in this case," Morgan told the Indian news channel NDTV. "It's not our desire that a pitch in an important city from a cricketing point of view, a place like Delhi, should face a lengthy ban.

"The ICC has written to the BCCI. The World Cup would be the poorer without matches being hosted in New Delhi. But you can be sure that an appropriate decision would be made by two expert people on the subject."

The BCCI has two weeks to respond to Hurst's report, which was submitted on December 29; its reply, in addition to the report, video footage of the abandoned game and other significant documents, will be studied by the ICC's chief referee Ranjan Madugalle and its cricket operations manager Dave Richardson, who will determine the penalty.