Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has stated that he will check the details of India Today’s sting operation thoroughly before deriving a conclusion on the controversy that has surrounded Pune pitch curator, Pandurang Salgaoncar.
Pitch curator at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) stadium, Pandurang Salgaoncar, was caught on India Today’s camera revealing pitch conditions to the reporters posed as bookies. He agreed to manipulate bounce, movement in order to make the pitch for the 2nd ODI on Wednesday a total batting paradise.
This stunning revelation, which came out just a few hours before the start of the match, has created a storm in the cricketing circles and has cast doubts over the possibility of the match getting organised.
It is also a huge blow to the arduous effort put in by the ICC and the BCCI to curb corruption in the game. The strict codes on corruption which puts a restriction on any outsider getting access to the playing area before the matches.
As reported, Salgaoncar not only delivered vital information but also took India Today’s undercover reporters on a pitch visit and allowed them to inspect it.
Maharashtra Cricket Association president Abhay Apte and BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary promised strong action following the sting operation, and as of now, the pitch curator has been handed over a suspension.
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Media later reached Cricket Association of Bengal President and former skipper Sourav Ganguly to react on the issue. He said he has no first-hand information related to the issue, and expressed confusion over the fact that what exactly Salgaoncar was trying to say.
“I am watching this on TV. I really don’t know what Salgaoncar is trying to say. I don’t think there is any way of stopping people from reaching the pitch. That is an issue in Indian cricket.
He also stated that he was unsure about how Salgaoncar could have agreed to tweak the playing conditions in just one day.
“(At this point) I don’t have much to say on this as I really don’t know what he was trying to do. I don’t know how he can tweak the pitch in one day and prepare it accordingly for a bookie.
“I don’t know in what context he was saying this was he saying this in haste. Let me go through the matter first,” he said.
BCCI acting president CK Khanna has written to anti corruption unit head Neeraj Kumar to get in touch with Pune team and send a report
— ANI (@ANI) October 25, 2017