'Virat Kohli rarely talks about the pitch condition' - Former BCCI Chief Curator
Former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Chief Curator Daljit Singh recently opened up about the role of a curator and how demanding a position it is. He also revealed that current Indian captain Virat Kohli leaves enquiries about the condition of the pitch to the coach.
In an exclusive interview with Indranil Basu on Sportskeeda Cricket's Facebook page, the former coach stated that the job of a curator is a thankless one, and spoke about the styles of Virat Kohli and former Indian skippers MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid.
When asked if captains are demanding with their varied requests to curators, Daljit Singh said -
"Over a period, things change and they are very different now. Some were very demanding and I soon realised that the curator was a very lonely man. Once things went wrong, it was your head, they'd blame you. I realised that listening to team demands - ek kaan se suno, ek kaan se niklo (hear it in one ear and let it out from the other)."
He added that curators used to be at the mercy of the captains, who would report them to the board if they refused to prepare pitches perfectly tailored to the team's needs.
"There was no point in arguing with them because they'd report it to the board. Over the years, experience teaches you never to go for extremes. Home advantage should be there but one has to keep a balance."
'Virat Kohli rarely talks about the pitch condition to the curator'
Also see: IPL match pitch report
Daljit Singh also said that captains like Dhoni, Dravid and Virat Kohli are very respectful towards the curators and don't make extreme demands.
"But with Indian team, captains are captains, they are very hyped up. But coaches, one has to be careful about their jobs. People like MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli, they don't want extremes from you and they don't want to push you also. Virat, in fact, rarely talks about the pitch condition to the curator. He leaves it to the coach."
In the 26 Tests that India have played at home under Virat Kohli's captaincy, they have recorded 20 wins, amounting to an incredible win percentage of 76.9. Away from home as well, Virat Kohli's side have mounted serious challenges in England, Australia and South Africa.