Calcutta: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has given the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) an official warning for preparing a poor quality pitch for the Test match between India and South Africa in Kanpur this April.

It has also recommended that the BCCI take remedial action to ensure it does not happen in the future. To that end, BCCI pitch consultant Daljit Singh will be asked to assist the process, according to an ICC release.

In response, the Indian cricket board has accepted the warning and has promised to carry out necessary action to ensure a qualitative improvement in the nature of the Kanpur pitch, the release added.

“I thank the ICC for its input and decision and I assure everyone that we would take all steps necessary to ensure this does not happen in the future,” Niranjan Shah, BCCI secretary, said on Friday.

The decision is the completion of the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, which was introduced in 2006 to ensure proper playing conditions, added the release.

The first stage of that process followed the match in question, which saw 32 wickets fall in three days.

At that point, ICC Match Referee Roshan Mahanama submitted a report to the ICC expressing concern over the quality of the playing surface.

Under clause 3.3 of the regulations governing the process, and following receipt of the Match Referee’s report which rated the pitch as substandard, the ICC wrote to the BCCI. The parent body asked for a written report on the condition of the surface including any extenuating circumstances which may have existed, the release stated.

Also in accordance with the process, ICC general manager David Richardson and the chief Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle then considered all the evidence, including studying video footage of the match.

Richardson said: “We have come to a decision that the pitch prepared for the match should be rated as ‘poor’.

“We have taken into consideration the explanations offered by the BCCI as to the reasons for the dryness of the pitch and we have noted that there is no previous record of a substandard pitch being prepared in Kanpur.

“It would appear that the poor quality of the pitch prepared for this Test was due to inadequate preparation procedures.

We have recommended that the BCCI pitch consultant, Daljit Singh, be requested to investigate and to ensure that in future the manner of preparation is in line with what is required to ensure that a better balance between bat and ball is achieved,” added Richardson.