IPL: Sudhir Naik received applauses for preparing quality pitch - Googly Mania

		
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
								
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
					
							
				
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
				
		
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        

	
        

        
        

        
        

	
        

        
        
		














		

    

    
        
        
        

IPL: Sudhir Naik received applauses for preparing quality pitch

It is well known that the Wankhede Stadium pitch witnessed a lot of criticism by the Mumbai Indian players as well as team management due to its unpredictable nature when Indian Premier League matches were organized here in 2012.

They complained that the wicket was not suitable for IPL. To be precise, the 22-yard strip could not endure the intact 40-overs. Some wickets were similar to Test-match pitches where the ball ridged out too much.

The year 2013 belonged to the chief curator of the Wankhede Stadium, Sudhir Naik. He not only received fuming reviews for the true pitches with good carry he consistently produced, but also won a trophy and Rs. 50 lakhs. This amount was shared by curators of the PCA Stadium in Mohali and the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur for developing world-class wickets. Mumbai Indians, who won the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League in Kolkata on Sunday, had a very successful record at home. Amazingly, they won all the matches at home.

How did a bad pitch changed to a good one? Naik disclosed that there were some technical problems last year. He explained that the soil they used to prepare the ground was delivered to them very late. It was after the monsoon that they received the soil. Hence they could not really predict if the soil was of good quality or not. Later they were running short of time. As a result, they had to manage with limited resources. However things were different this year. Naik ensured that he had everything in correct place in advance so that he could construct wicket the way he intended.

Naik narrated that they received the soil in correct time and so got enough time to understand its nature and treat it accordingly. A new facet they ensured this year was that they used fresh grass in abundance. This ensured that there were no patches. Visibly, the entire wicket had an even distribution of fresh grass. Above all, they worked closely on their rolling pattern. Previously, they used to roll the wicket in parallel only. But they changed their rolling pattern in the current season. They not only rolled it in parallel, but also rolled it diagonally and perpendicularly which helped a lot.

Naik guessed that it must have helped in a way that the big names in the MI set-up never intervened regarding how the pitch would be developed. He revealed that Anil Kumble who mentored Mumbai Indians took only basic advice from him regarding the behavior of the wicket. The mentor never interfered in the preparation. Hence they enjoyed the freedom to develop the wicket.

You can share this post!

...