"It is a long tournament and we did not want to take a risk with our marquee player on the injury prone artificial surface," a team official said of the former Juventus star's absence.
The artificial turf at the Salt Lake Stadium has come in for criticism earlier also, with even ATK marquee player, Luis Garcia, saying it was difficult to play on.
It's not the first time that the Vivekanand Yuva Bharati Krirangan's surface has come in for criticism as many including home team's marquee player Luis Garcia have expressed their concerns in the past.
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