The Holkar Stadium in Indore offered vicious turn to the spinners.
The third Test at the Holkar Stadium in Indore finished in two days and a session as Australia defeated India by nine wickets.
“The ICC has deemed the pitch used for the third Test between India and Australia, which was played under the ICC World Test Championship umbrella, at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore as “poor” under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process,” the apex body said in a statement.
Spinners from both sides enjoyed great success on the surface that was assisting them right from the start on Day 1, which saw 14 wickets fall. Out of the 31 wickets that fell during the whole match, 26 were scalped by the spinners.
“The Holkar Stadium has received three demerit points as a result after ICC Match Referee Chris Broad submitted his report after consultation with both Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith, the captains of both teams in the third Test,” ICC’s statement further stated.
BCCI now have 14 days if they wish to appeal against the sanction.
Commenting on the pitch, Chris Broad said: “The pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favouring spinners from the start.
"The fifth ball of the match broke through the pitch surface and continued to occasionally break the surface providing little or no seam movement and there was excessive and uneven bounce throughout the match.”
According to the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, a venue will be suspended from hosting any international cricket for a period of 12 months if it accumulates five or more demerit points over a five-year rolling period.
With the victory in Indore Test, Australia sealed their World Test Championship final spot. India still lead the four-match series 2-1 with one Test to go in Ahmedabad, which the hosts will need to win to reach the WTC final.