He was the butt of criticism for almost the entire last season when Hyderabad Ranji squad failed to get the expected ‘home advantage’. Yet, not fault of his or his team’s, Y. L. Chandrasekhar, the curator of Hyderabad Cricket Association at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, had to invariably obey the ‘instructions’ from the top in preparing the pitches, as it’s an unwritten rule that is the prerogative of the curator to follow the guidelines laid down by the BCCI which has Dr. Daljit Singh panel to supervise the preparation of pitches.
So, when the 58-year-old Chandrasekhar or to be more precise his team of 25-member ground staff at Uppal were picked by the Governing Council of the high-profile of Indian Premier League to share the special award for preparing the best pitches with Mohali and Brabourne, it could not have come at a more appropriate time. Incidentally this untiring official is the only curator with a science background in the country (he was with the ICRISAT before joining HCA in 2008-09). One of the most heartening features of Hyderabad cricket over the years is that the one segment which invariably managed to salvage a sense of pride and prestige has been the ground staff – from the days of the one-man show by the dedicated Gopala Rao (more popular as ‘Pipe’ Gopal) at Gymkhana Ground to Mukesh Kumar and Dutta Nalge at Secunderabad and Chandrasekhar and his team at Uppal.
If at all proof was needed for the way the ground staff show their remarkable commitment despite not being paid as handsomely as some of the ‘honorary’ officials, it was there for all to see when they put in place a match-fit ground after heavy rains lashed the Uppal Stadium for the big clash between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore. At one stage, a wash out seemed imminent but eventually a shortened game was played, to the delight of the near-capacity crowd which did not move from the venue hoping for some action.
“Yes, this Award is a recognition for the entire ground-staff. I am lucky to have such a terrific team and I must thank the top brass of HCA for the wonderful support they extend to us,” says a delighted Chandrasekhar. Interestingly, HCA got the special award and a cash incentive of Rs.12.50 lakhs which was shared by the entire team.
The amount of respect the HCA ground staff get from the leading lights of the game can well be easily guessed if one were to look at the pictures of the likes of Dhoni, Sachin, Laxman, Muralitharan, commentators Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri sharing a few thoughts before the games begin with Chandrasekhar and his team. The near-unanimous opinion is that Hyderabad has always produced the best wickets for one-dayers and the IPL though serious questions do crop up when it comes to Ranji wickets.
The fact that Uppal Stadium has already hosted three Test matches (the first one drawn against New Zealand which made offie Harbhajan Singh compare the pitch to a national highway as the bowlers toiled to get some help even on the fifth day and the next two India won inside four days), four ODIs, two Ranji finals and one Duleep Trophy final is a tribute to the efficacy of the ground staff including G. Mallesh, J. Mallesh, Faheem, Srinivas to name a few. They are uncomplaining at any given point of time and this, despite being treated shabbily at lunch breaks during Ranji season when they are forced to wait till the élite’ have it.
With the new season ahead, critics hope that Hyderabad takes optimum benefit of ‘home advantage’. For this, a lot depends on this unsung team of Chandrasekhar.
