“Leave the curator alone” - Sunil Gavaskar offers a piece of advice to Indian team management after 30-run loss to SA in 1st Test

Former Indian captain and commentator Sunil Gavaskar has revealed that the pitch curators should be left alone as they know their job better than anyone else. Notably, Gavaskar’s comments came right after India’s 30-run loss to South Africa in the first Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

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Speaking exclusively to India Today, Gavaskar asserted that no Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise can influence a pitch curator to prepare any specific type of pitch. However, it’s up to the curator to work independently and prepare a surface. He added that intervention from the team management would backfire, which needs to be avoided. 

“Well, you know what happens in the IPL? No IPL franchise can influence a curator to prepare any specific kind of pitch. The curator works independently. If he happens to be a die-hard fan of the home franchise, he might prepare a surface that suits their strengths, but that's entirely his call,” Gavaskar told India Today.

“It's always best to leave the curator alone because he knows his job better than anyone else. When you start asking him to mix things up or prepare a pitch a certain way, it can easily backfire. That is exactly what you want to avoid,” he added.

For the unversed, the Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir, who attended the post-match press conference, had revealed that they were the ones who had asked for such a pitch at the Eden Gardens. Moreover, he went on to reveal that there were no demons on the surface.

Interestingly, the surface offered uneven bounce right from the first day of the Eden Test as batters failed to create an impact. Surprisingly, South African captain Temba Bavuma was the lone batter to score a half-century in the Test.

India will next lock horns with South Africa in the second and final Test of the two-match series, starting on Saturday, November 22, in Guwahati.

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