The International Cricket Council on Tuesday announced a six-month suspension on Maharashtra Cricket Association's pitch curator Pandurang Salgaoncar following its investigations over alleged charges of corruption made by a television channel in October 2017.
The International Cricket Council said it is investigating the pitch tampering allegations made against Pune curator Pandurang Salgaoncar ahead of the second ODI between India and New Zealand in Pune on Wednesday.
Australia captain Steven Smith has dropped a bombshell indicating that the Pune track will be a rank turner.
Lesson learnt after the Pune pitch fiasco, the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) has beefed up security around the 22-yard strip for the third ODI between India and New Zealand, in Kanpur, on Sunday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India suspended the curator of the Maharashtra Cricket Association's stadium in Pune after he was captured on television in a sting operation, claiming that he could tamper with the pitch ahead of Wednesday's second India-New Zealand One-Day International.
The Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) Chairman Vinod Rai on Wednesday defended the Board of Control for Cricket in India's anti-corruption unit, saying a three-member team can't be everywhere, after the board suspended MCA curator Pandurang Salgaoncar for allegedly claiming that he could tamper with the pitch ahead of the India-New Zealand ODI.
A curator falling to the lure of corrupt money doesn't come as a surprise to former Board of Control for Cricket in India pitch committee chairman Venkat Sundaram, who says "underpaid groundsmen" are vulnerable to such approaches.
Pandurang Salgaoncar's fall from grace has suddenly shifted focus on pitch curators - a section in cricketing community who have a major role to play but are grossly underpaid.
India produced a professional performance under pressure to crush New Zealand by six wickets in a must-win game and level three-match series 1-1 in Pune on Wednesday.
Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Ajit Wadekar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Vijay Manjrekar and Eknath Solkar are among the 17 cricketers from Maharashtra who have the 'Kar' suffix in their surnames and have played Test cricket for India.
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