Veteran curator Daljit Singh bids adieu, legacy remains
MOHALI: After the toss at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium, in walked Daljit Singh, in his last match as BCCI chief curator. He was felicitated by India coach Ravi Shastri and skipper Virat Kohli and the crowd gave him a warm applause for his 22 years of service to Indian cricket.
The former first-class cricketer, who resigned as BCCI’s chief curator earlier this month, oversaw preparations for the second T20I as he continues to head the Punjab Cricket Association’s pitch committee. “Cricket is my life and you cannot keep me away,” he joked.
IS Bindra, former PCA and BCCI president, had chosen Daljit back in 1993 and in four years time, he became a part of the first pitch committee formed by the BCCI.
“IS Bindra’s help cannot be forgotten. He urged me to prepare fast pitches and always stood by my decisions.” At a time when grassy and hard surfaces were rare in India, Daljit was credited for laying out one in Mohali for a brief period. “A lot of coaxing was required but I’m glad the BCCI supported the move and made other associations follow suit.”
The 77-year-old will leave behind a much-improved system from when he started out. “The job description has evolved and now everyone (curators) is paid properly. We were almost treated like gardeners back in the day.” BCCI now has a four-level certification course which groundsmen have to pass to become curators.
A curator is often under pressure with regards to preparing pitches which suit the home side. Daljit has his own take on it. “Such things will happen in international cricket. Your job is to not go overboard and maintain a balance between bat and ball. Sometimes, one-off incidents do occur,” he said, referring to the Australia Test in Pune in 2017 which got over in three days and the pitch received a poor rating from ICC.
There was another encounter in 2009 between India and Sri Lanka in New Delhi which was abandoned due to a “dangerous pitch”.