Chief selector performs puja on pitch before Ind vs WI match

Chief selector MSK Prasad was seen performing a 'pitch puja' on Thursday at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam just before the second ODI match between India and West Indies.

MSK Prasad, the Chairman of selectors along with pitch curators, was seen performing rituals on the pitch before the match began. Though such traditions are followed before the start of a new season, a ritual on the pitch just before the match is new.

Former Andhra Pradesh cricketer GJJ Raju criticised Prasad for taking part in the ritual as it takes the attention from the players'a hard work. Raju ended up calling Prasad a 'cricket illiterate'. However, in response, a BCCI match referee said that such rituals are fine as long as it does not affect the pitch.

West Indies which was constantly decimated, battled hard on the second ODI and led the match to a draw.