CHENNAI: Ankit Datta was a neurology technician at GB Pant Government Hospital in New Delhi. Among many of his responsibilities were monitoring epilepsy patients and conducting tests like NCV (nerve conduction velocity). But having played cricket at junior level and remained associated with the iconic Sonnet Cricket Club of the national capital, Datta never cut himself off from the game. In fact, he cleared BCCI's Level 1 umpires' examination and started officiating in the matches, which basically meant operating specialised medical equipment at night and umpiring in matches in daytime.
Given his wont, Datta longed for natural progression but somehow found himself stuck forcing a switch from umpiring to pitch preparations and ground maintenance. Once he became a certified BCCI curator in 2012 there was no looking back and Datta is now one of the most recognised faces at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. "I joined Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) in 2012 under Mr Venkat Sundaram. He was the chief. I was assisting Mr Sundaram from 2012 to 2014. In 2014, Venkat sir left, so I became the chief," Datta told this daily.
But before sharing his more than a decade long journey with DDCA, Datta threw light on his transition from a neurology technician to umpire to curator. "I played for Sonnet Cricket Club, Tarak Sinha's club. Before that, I played for KN Colts. And I was there in the junior levels — under-17 and under-15. As far as my academics is concerned, I did BSc. Physics Honours from Jamia Millia Islamia. After that, I did a two-and-a-half-year diploma in neurology from GB Pant Hospital. The reason behind this was that they only wanted people from a physics background as all the machines were operated on physics laws."
After completing the course, Datta joined the hospital, which is a specialised government hospital, next month. "As a neurology technician, I used to monitor epilepsy patients, the seizures and all, and I used to do tests like NCV and all those things. I joined there on a contractual basis. In the meanwhile, I used to do umpiring. Because I used to do night jobs there, I became a state panel umpire, then a Level 1 BCCI umpire. Then I appeared for BCCI Level 2."
Datta, who is 39 now, decided to undergo a certification course for curators in 2012 after he realised that there was no fixed time frame within which he could graduate from one level to another as an umpire. "...in 2012, there was a certification course in Mohali for curators. And the background was that you should be a science student, have some knowledge of horticulture, and if you have played for 4-5 years, that was the criteria. So in 2012, Daljit Singh, the then chairman of the Grounds and Pitch Committee, conducted that course, and it was for 21 days. We were taught literature, physical/practical things, and it was a theoretical paper as well as a practical exam. So I became a certified BCCI curator in 2012."
He joined DDCA soon after and was an understudy of ex-chief curator Sundaram before taking over a couple of years later. Datta, meanwhile, continued with his dual role shuffling from GB Pant Hospital to DDCA every day. In 2020, after Rohan Jaitley was elected as the DDCA chief, he asked Datta to give up his job with the hospital and take over as full-time chief curator of the association. "In the meanwhile, when Justice (Vikramjit) Sen came (as DDCA administrator), they had given me a formal contract. I was not under contract before that; I used to take TA/DA until 2017. Then when Justice Sen came, they gave me a formal contract of three years. And when in 2020 Rohan Ji came, he asked me to leave the hospital job and assured the necessary compensation. So I resigned from that job in 2020."
Incumbent DDCA president Jaitley also shared his thoughts behind the decision made six years ago. "... when I came in at that point of time I realized that the kind of maintenance and up-gradation that the infrastructure needed. Keeping that in mind, it was the appropriate situation where someone with his (Datta) credentials, caliber, and with the background that he had in terms of curating the facilities and maintaining them, he was an ideal candidate. He was already aware of the system. But he was obviously doing it on a part-time basis, as an advisory but not on a full-time basis. But once, but when you are looking to host multi-games across different formats, whether it be IPL, bilateral commitments, World Cups were coming in at that point of time, and now with our domestic season, the amount of usage that happens to the infrastructure, you need obviously top-match facilities and with that, you need the dedication and commitment which the man has."
The vision, with which Jaitley decided to hire Datta on a full-time basis paid dividends when DDCA was given the Best Pitch and Ground Award for the 2025 IPL season. "And that decision turned out to be great because in 2025 I think, DDCA got that award. From a venue that got banned for a pitch fiasco to getting the complete ground and pitch award for the IPL two seasons ago. It's a very long path that we walked," signed off Jaitley.
Datta has worn many hats in the last two decades. From being an aspiring cricketer to neurology technician to umpire to curator, Datta definitely has come a long way. But for him, curatorship is one thing that he loves the most. "I have enjoyed curatorship the most. Because it is a long process, and you have to be in the schedule for the full year, and you have to be at the top, or you have to follow the guidelines because cricket is played 365 days a year. Maintaining pitches is a hectic task, and you have to always be on your toes and have a schedule for every game. Basically, it's a systematic job, sir; you cannot take anything for granted."
Gone are the days when he used to operate specialised equipment at GB Pant Hospital but that precision and specialisation still help Datta albeit in a different way.