`Pitch incident’ not intentional — Yograj

He however, came down heavily on the Ludhiana skipper Rakesh Saini’s decision not to play, which cost Chandigarh the match, after the two umpires offered him the game. "I apologised for my mistake but remember, there was no sea change in the condition of the pitch. He should have been a sport and carried on with the game. Two wrongs do not make a right," Yograj further said.

"As an honorary coach, it is my duty to see that the players get the best of facilities. That’s why I came down to the ground in the morning itself, knowing that another match will be played after a day’s gap. So, I rolled and prepared the pitch which will be used for the next game. Believe me, I did not, repeat did not, water the match pitch. Only the area in the playing crease with the bowlers footmarks were repaired, which was within the rules of the game" Yograj said.

"In hindsight, I feel I should not have rolled the pitch without the umpires’ consent. I regret that. But, in no way was that intentional," Yograj said.