Former BCCI chief curator Dhiraj Parsana comes in support of Pandurang Salgaonkar

The second ODI of the three-match series was an important one for Team India after they lost the opener in Mumbai. But the buildup to the encounter had made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Ahead of the do-or-die game for Team India, Pune’s pitch curator, Pandurang Salgaonkar, faced a ban from entering his stadium after he was caught on camera sharing pitch information with bookies. 

While people are busy in targeting the 68-year-old for this scandal, he has found a support in the face of Dhiraj Prasanna who feels that Salgaonkar might have said things simply to fend off journalists and to avoid any detailed discussion.

“I used to tell him to not run away from the media but tell them in brief of what’s happening. Maybe that’s how he has learnt these things. I know Pandurang as a cricketer and as a person,” Parsana said as quoted by Hindustan Times. 

In a sting operation, done by India Today ahead of the second ODI, Salgoankar was seen giving information to undercover reporters who met him as a bookie. He not only shared the crucial information but also seemed ready to customise the pitch on demand to favour the bookies. Despite that, his former compatriot has shown his trust on Salgaonkar.

“We played a lot of cricket in Mumbai; he used to play for Mahindra and Mahindra and I used to play for Mafatlal. He has been a very strong person all these years as a curator. He is always fond of what he is doing, and he is not like that. He is not a person who would fix. He is a strong-minded person, a wonderful curator. I am sure what he said would have been to fend off those people.”