Kotla gets a new curator

“ Yes,talks are going on to bring Rasik to help us with Kotla pitch and we are in the process of finalising the details. I expect everything in order in a week’s time,” Sneh Bansal,DDCA secretary told Sportline. Bansal,however,declined to comment on the future of Venkat Sundaram,the current chief curator at the DDCA,who incidentally is also the BCCI’s chairman of pitches committee.

However a top DDCA official indicated that Venkat and his two other members of his staff – Radhey Shyam and Noor Mohammad will be relieved of their roles,and said a letter has already been dispatched to each one of them that saying that the association is not satisfied with their work and the negative media publicity they have attracted.

“Despite giving them lakhs of rupees as salary and a free-hand in bringing machinery and other purchases,Kotla is still getting adverse remarks. We shortlisted a few new candidates from Delhi like Gurcharan Singh,who has prepared five wickets in Delhi,NC Bakshi,who helped prepare the 1996 World Cup pitch but we decided to go for Rasikbhai because he’s amongst the best in business,” the official said.

When contacted at his Rajkot stadium office,Rasik expressed his willingness to accept the job. “I just need to have a final word with Shah before I can call Mr Bansal and give my consent. I am eager to get started at the Kotla. Even before this job offer came my way,I have been following Kotla’s case out of my own curiosity. I believe that they have got a different clay and sowed the grass saplings too far apart for it to bond well. Also they put the top soil too early on it and didn’t allow the grass to grow much and it was trimmed because there were matches planned on it. All this is based on what I have gathered from news reports and my own people. I have to see the wicket personally to make a final observation and start the repair work,” says Makhwana. Kotla is presently hosting Hot-weather matches and the repair work is likely to start early next month.

CIC ready to roll

Meanwhile,the much-coveted Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) is likely to get the final nod in the next three days as the all-powerful executive body sits to deliberate the role of the newly-formed committee. “We had asked the CIC to give us a detailed programme about their plans for the coming season and how they will set forth the process. They have submitted it to us recently and we will decide on it in the next three days,” Bansal clarified.

The CIC,comprising of Bishen Bedi,Kirti Azad,Madan Lal,Surinder Khanna and Maninder Singh,is expected to initially oversee and manage the preparations for the Delhi Ranji conditioning camp before being handed powers to appoint and recommend coaches,selectors across all age-groups.