English county championship club Leicestershire has accused Sourav Ganguly’s biopic of being one reason for the poor pitch at Grace Road when the disciplinary panel asked them for an explanation. However, the panel upheld the Cricket Regulator’s verdict that the county, for preparing a “poor pitch”, rejected the reason given and gave a 27-point penalty.

Leicestershire won their game against Glamorgan between August 20 and 23. The club was initially given a 19-point ban and was further docked 8 points and also fined £5,000. Being in the danger of relegation, Leicestershire can appeal the verdict in the next 10 days.

“It’s a used pitch this time around. We had two T20S on it 10 weeks ago. There were a lot of circumstances leading up to the game that were just out of my control, such as the weather being 35 degrees,” Leicestershire groundsman Callum Lewin said.

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“We also had an unscheduled Bollywood filming event four days before (the match against Glamorgan), and I wasn’t allowed to work on the pitch. I wasn’t allowed to cover it or anything,” Lewin added.

“We also had an unscheduled Bollywood filming event four days before (the match against Glamorgan), and I wasn’t allowed to work on the pitch. I wasn’t allowed to cover it or anything,” Lewin said.

The filming of Ganguly’s biopic took place for one day; the panel did consider it but later rejected it as a mitigating factor for the poor pitch.

The Leicestershire club released a statement saying, “The Club notes the Cricket Discipline Panel’s decision, which imposes an eight-point deduction, an additional eight-point deduction suspended until the end of the 2027 season, and a financial penalty of £5,000.

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“Having received the Panel’s decision, the Club is reviewing its position and considering all available options,” the club said in a statement.

Leicestershire will play Hampshire next and needs to beat them to stay up in Division One.