MUMBAI: The BCCI top brass met here on Suunday to draft their reply to the ICC showcause notice on the December 27 pitch fiasco at Ferozeshah Kotla so that the venue evades ban and gets away with a fine.

Top BCCI officials, including Board president Shashank Manohar and Delhi and District Cricket Association chief Arun Jaitley, met here to draft the Cricket Board's reply to the ICC showcause notice on the episode that led to the abandonment of the final India-Sri Lanka ODI after the wicketwas found dangerous to play.

According to sources, BCCI, in its response, would stress on the point that while the pitch may have been ‘poor’, it was not ‘unfit’ altogether.

“If the pitch is deemed just ‘poor’, you can pay the fine and get away with it. But if it's considered ‘unfit’, that would entail a 1-2 year ban which the Board just doesn't want since Kotla is also a 2011 World Cup venue,” a source said. Once ICC receives BCCI's response, chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle and ICC general manager (Cricket) Dav Richardson would take a final decision on the issue.

SA Test venuesSouth Africa will play two Tests and three one-day internationals on their tour of India this year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Sunday. Nagpur and Kolkata will host the two tests and Kanpur, Jaipur and Ahmedabad will hold the three ODIs. The dates are yet to be finalised.