BCCI on sticky wicket, again

Pune: The BCCI on Wednesday suspended the curator of Pune’s cricket stadium after he was seen on a TV sting operation claiming that he could tamper with the pitch ahead of the second India-New Zealand ODI.

However, the match, second of a three-game series, went ahead as scheduled after an ICC observer approved the track following an inspection. Maharashtra Cricket Association president Abhay Apte made the announcement barely half an hour before the toss.

In the sting operation by India Today TV, curator Pandurang Salgaoncar is seen and heard speaking to an undercover reporter, who poses as a bookie, while standing on the pitch of the MCA Stadium. The 68-year-old Salgaoncar is seen agreeing to tamper with the pitch to suit the requirements put forth by the reporter. India Today TV said the video was shot on Tuesday evening. It is not clear how Salgaoncar, a former pacer and one-time India prospect, could have tweaked the pitch with just a few hours to go before the match.

“Salgaoncar has been suspended from the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s curator’s post with immediate effect,” BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Chaudhary said.

“The MCA has also suspended Salgaoncar from all other positions in the association. An inquiry Commission will also be constituted by MCA. At BCCI, we reiterate that we have zero tolerance towards any corrupt activity,” he added.

What has left senior BCCI officials baffled is that Salgaoncar allowed a self-confessed bookie to accompany him to the main match pitch. Under BCCI rules no unaccredited persons, including journalists, are allowed near the pitch.

“The BCCI Anti-Corruption Unit under Neeraj Kumar will have some answering to do. Here a random man comes, doesn’t have an all-access area pass  and is taken to the main pitch by the curator,” a BCCI official said.

Asked if the ACU unit should be answerable as to how an outsider got access to the pitch, Chaudhary said, “...everyone associated with the ACU would be answerable. In any case, a very select few have access to the centre of the pitch.”

The Pune pitch had been under the spotlight earlier as well. It had been rated poor by the ICC after an India-Australia Test match in February. The Australians had hammered India by 333 runs on a turner where the home team were bowled out for 105 and 107 in two innings.