M.C.A. Pitch Curator Sudhir Naik resigns
Jun 30, 2016 at 3:26 PM
The longest serving pitch curator of Wankhede Stadium, Sudhir Naik who took care of the Wankhede wicket for almost a period of thirty years has finally decided to call it a day and have decided to bid a goodbye to the Mumbai cricket Association. Naik’s contract ended on May 31 and according to him he had already written to the board not to renew his contract.
Though he said that he still loves his job but insisted that it is the age barrier and the mental pressure involved in the job is the reason why he is resigning. He also feared that the Ravi Shastri like incident may happen again and said “I loved doing my job all these years, but I’m above 70 now. Last year, a coach (Ravi Shastri) had a go at me as he felt the pitch wasn’t to his liking. Tomorrow, the Indian captain may dish out similar treatment to me. I don’t think I can take that kind of stress anymore. My two-year contract with the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) ended on May 31, and I’ve written to them that I don’t want to continue,” the curator told TOI on Wednesday.
“I want to teach young curators the art of preparing good wickets. Today’s curators are well-educated, which is good because they’re aware of the science that goes behind preparing a wicket,” added Naik.
The M.C.A has also confirmed his resignation. “We’ve received his resignation. We’ll appoint a new curator soon,” said MCA joint secretary PV Shetty. It is expected that the responsibility may be passed over to the Ramesh Mhamunkar, the co-curator at Wankhede.
Naik who played 3 Test matches for Indian team had something to say about the controversy surrounding around Shastri and Ganguly. Speaking on the issue he said “Shastri should’ve come personally for the interview, instead of talking to the committee on Skype. That would’ve made his case stronger, like it did for Kumble. On the other hand, Ganguly should’ve also postponed his meeting at the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). You’re going to select the India coach, after all,”
With the death of Prabir Mukherjee earlier this month, Naik is only a few of the experienced curators left in the country.