Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, October 27
Was Pandurang Salgaoncar, the now-suspended Pune stadium’s curator, really up to some mischief when he reportedly agreed to tamper the wicket as per the demands of reporters posing as bookies on the eve of the second ODI between India and New Zealand? While the news channel behind the sting claimed that Pandurang agreed to tamper the wicket as per their demands, the curator wasn’t seen explicitly agreeing to do so in the video. Besides, their claim that Salgaoncar allowed them to tinker with the wicket by allowing them to walk on the track holds no water. A simple stroll on a wicket wearing normal shoes, or even spikes, can’t cause any damage to the track.
Anyway, regardless of his real intentions, could Salgaoncar have actually tinkered with the wicket a day before the game?? “No, it’s next to impossible,” said a senior curator on the condition of anonymity. “He wasn’t the only curator working on the wicket. A BCCI curator had been overseeing the preparation three-four days ahead of the match. So, it’s inconceivable that he would not have noticed if Salgaoncar had attempted something out of the ordinary at the eleventh hour.”
