Saurav Ganguly's biopic shoot caught in Leicestershire’s 27-point County Championship row

The filming of former India captain Sourav Ganguly’s biopic has emerged in an unusual county cricket controversy after Leicestershire cited an “unscheduled Bollywood filming event” among the circumstances that affected preparation of a pitch subsequently deemed poor. The explanation, however, failed to convince a disciplinary panel, which handed the county a 27-point penalty over the surface used for its County Championship match against Glamorgan at Grace Road from August 20 to 23.

The Cricket Discipline Panel upheld the Cricket Regulator’s charge against Leicestershire over the pitch, taking away the 19 points the club earned from its 42-run victory against Glamorgan and imposing an additional eight-point deduction. The club was also fined £5,000 and has 10 days to appeal the verdict, which has left it facing the prospect of relegation from Division One.

Filming disrupts preparation

Grace Road head groundsman Callum Lewin told the Cricket Regulator that several factors outside his control had affected preparation of the surface. He said the match was played on a used pitch that had hosted two T20 matches around 10 weeks earlier, while temperatures had climbed to 35 degrees in the build-up to the fixture. Lewin also pointed to an unscheduled Bollywood filming event four days before the Glamorgan match, saying he was unable to work on or cover the pitch while filming was underway.

The filming was connected to the biopic of Ganguly, but the disciplinary panel rejected it as a mitigating factor, noting that the shoot had occupied Grace Road for only one day. Problems with the surface became apparent during the subsequent Championship fixture, when moving cracks contributed to uneven bounce. Match referee Ian Ramage documented 43 examples of uneven bounce in his match log, forming part of the evidence considered during the disciplinary proceedings.

Approach deemed unreasonable

The tribunal concluded that Leicestershire had not deliberately prepared a poor surface but found that the club’s approach to preparing the pitch had been “unreasonable”. The finding resulted in the loss of the 19 points collected from the Glamorgan victory as well as the separate eight-point sanction.

Leicestershire said it was reviewing the panel’s decision and considering the options available to it. The club’s statement also referred to an additional eight-point deduction suspended until the end of the 2027 season, alongside the immediate eight-point deduction and £5,000 financial penalty.

Relegation battle intensifies

The punishment has dramatically increased the pressure on Leicestershire at the business end of the County Championship season. With 89 points from 12 matches following the sanction, the club now needs to beat Hampshire in its ongoing Division One fixture to retain its place in the top tier.

Leicestershire can still challenge the disciplinary ruling, with the club having a 10-day window to lodge an appeal. Until then, the substantial points deduction leaves its Division One survival hanging in the balance.