The International Cricket Council on Tuesday rated the Nagpur pitch that was used for the third India-South Africa Test match in November as "poor". Match referee Jeff Crowe submitted his report to the ICC expressing the concerns of the match officials over the performance of the pitch, a statement said. "This report has been forwarded to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which now has 14 days to provide its response," said the ICC.

Once the BCCI submits its response, the ICC's general manager Geoff Allardice and the chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle will consider all evidence, before taking a final call on the pitch and whether a penalty should be imposed.

The match in question, played between November 25 and November 28, was a low-scoring affair. India won the Test by 124 runs in less than three days, with the spinners taking the majority of the wickets. The pitch came under severe criticism from several quarters, with former cricketers like Michael Vaughan and Matthew Hayden disapproving of the surface. However, Indian team captain Virat Kohli and team director Ravi Shastri downplayed such claims. No official complaint was lodged by the South African team.