MCA to discuss alleged Ravi Shastri-Sudhir Naik confrontation on October 30

Mumbai: The Mumbai Cricket Association's (MCA) managing committee will discuss Wankhede Stadium curator Sudhir Naik's complaint of verbal abuse against Indian Team Director Ravi Shastri on October 30 here.

MCA joint secretary PV Shetty told PTI that it has received the complaint from Naik, also a former India opener, and the managing committee will take up the matter. "Naik has lodged a complaint with MCA. The matter will be taken up at MCA Managing Committee meeting on October 30," Shetty said.

Another MCA joint secretary Unmesh Khanvilkar said, "We are taking the complaint to managing committee. Naik in his complaint said that he and Shastri had an exchange of words and the Indian team director used abusive words against him."

Shastri did not like the flat track that was produced by Naik and he apparently expressed his displeasure at the nature of the strip. The Team director allegedly used some harsh words and Naik also reacted sharply. The curator, who has also been Zaheer Khan's coach, then reported the matter to the Mumbai Cricket Association.

In his complaint, Naik said Shastri used unparliamentary language while telling him what he thought about the ODI pitch midway through the match and bowling coach B Arun also fired his assistant Mamunkar on the same issue. He also said in the complaint that the Indian team management wanted a spinning pitch which was not possible at the 11th hour.

India lost the match by 214 runs to concede the series 2-3. BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur on Monday said the Board will look into the details about Shastri's alleged confrontation with Naik.

Thakur said the Standard Operating Procedure will be followed just like it was done when Virat Kohli had abused a journalist of a leading national daily in Perth during World Cup, earlier this year.

"We will look into the details of Team Director (Shastri) allegedly confronting curator of Wankhede Stadium. We had done the same in (sic) Australia (without referring to incident of apparently Kohli and Indian journo). Same yardstick will be applied," Thakur said. 

Cricketer-turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar too has criticised his former Mumbai and India teammate Shastri on the incident via social media. "Ravi Shastri completely out of line to abuse Sudhir Naik, curator at Wankhede. Showed disrespect to age and fellow test cricketer," he wrote on his Twitter handle.