All the cricket in me came out on this wicket, says curator Pandurang Salgaokar
The curator of the Pune pitch, where the second Test match of the Freedom series happened, was a happy man as he was able to produce a perfect pitch as he tried to refurbish his image. The pacer turned curator Padurang Salgaokar said that he poured all the cricket he had him in the wicket.
Former pacer Pandurang Salgaokar first came into the limelight back in 2017 when a pitch prepared by him became an object of ridicule. The first-ever Test match at MCAS in Pune ended in less than three days and the pitch received widespread criticism and so did curator Salgaokar. But what a comeback he made with a picture-perfect pitch which featured in the second Test match of the ongoing Freedom series. The quality was top-notch as it provided appreciable bounce and carry to pacers even on the fourth day of the Test match.
“All my life I have played cricket. Even though I missed out on playing for India, I just played one unofficial Test, but even at this age, cricket has given me back. What cricket was there in me came out during this game in this wicket,” he said, “I always like grassy wickets,” Salgaokar was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
The former lanky speedster didn't forget to acknowledge the amount of support the nature provided to prepare the pitch which proved to be redemption.
“I wouldn’t have been able to prepare this kind of a wicket had there not been rains. It’s been raining every day for the last 15 days.”
2017 was a year to forget for the curator as he as he got entangled in a bigger trouble following the pitch fiasco. He was accused of sharing pitch information ahead of the ODI against the Kiwis in the same year. As the news spread like wildfire, his hard-earned reputation was left in tatters but he received a clean chit from the ICC after a thorough inquiry of the matter.
“In that match also I was not tense because I didn’t do anything. People tried to get me into trouble; they will have to answer for their karma. I didn’t say anything and hadn’t done anything wrong. When I am fair to myself I have nothing to worry. My family supported me like anything, my sons and my daughter. Because of their support, I am still alive," he said as those bitter memories flooded him.
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