Friday, May 24th 07:52 AM IST

Shocker! 14 of 31 Indian pitch curators fail exam

by Sep 25, 2012

Rajasthan Cricket Association’s Taposh Chatterjee is clearly the man to beat when it comes to curating pitches in India. Or, he just might be the best exam-taker.

In a recent examination held at Mohali, 14 out of 31 Indian curators failed the exam. Chatterjee topped with 88 percent. India Today reports that the exam comprised a theory and a practical portion and to pass, each applicant had to score more than 60 percent in each part. Each state sends its own representatives.

The BCCI was unavailable for comment on this shocking performance. You can read the entire report here.

The great curation test. Getty Images

Pitch curation has come under some discussion after the Indian captain MS Dhoni said after the 2-0 win against New Zealand – “One definite area where we would like ourselves is playing on tracks that turn. That’s something we didn’t get in the series,” said Dhoni.

Spinning tracks is where India is at its best and the opposition isn’t. So in a sense, it’s logical for him to ask for that. But there is the reverse effect as well – once India go abroad, the batsmen struggle badly.

There are different schools of thought when it comes to pitch curation and the way it builds cricket – one, is to play to the home team’s strengths, ie spinning in India, bouncy in South Africa. And two, has been a mix – where a country has aimed to build itself to play both at home and abroad.

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