Former Chief Pitch curator of MA Chidambaram stadium, K. Parthasarathy passes away

Cricket has always dwelled deep in the Indian subcontinent. Especially in India, several legends have been celebrated and appreciated over the years. However, for the successful conducting of the match, it is often the people who work in the background who lay a solid foundation to make expected conditions into a reality on the match day. Hence, more often than not, they are the unsung heroes of Indian cricket, who mostly go unnoticed for their remarkable contribution to the game of cricket.

On Sunday, the renowned former pitch curator K Parthasarathy of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) passed away. However, the association did not forget to offer their condolences to the bereaved family and also remember his immense contributions to the development of cricket both on and off the pitch. Parthasarathy who was the former Chief Pitch Curator of the MA Chindambaram Stadium, served from 1972 until year 2013. The unsung legend used to work tirelessly with his team to ensure top-notch facilities and playing conditions for the MAC Stadium, which also included the net facilities as well.

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Many cricket stalwarts often appreciated the pitches prepared by Parthasarathy in a career which spanned nearly five decades, In fact, cricket runs deep in his family roots as his father KS Kannan was considered a commendable First-Class cricketer. Not just that, he was also a renowned coach carrying immense goodwill. Besides, as per the New Indian Express, the TNCA had duly acknowledged his contributions to developing Tamil Nadu's cricket by honouring him during the Tamil Nadu Premier League's (TNPL) final clash of the 2020-21 edition.

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A Master of curating pitch

While talking about his revolutionary work in preparing pitches for several memorable international cricket matches, K Parthasarathy brought some major improvisations and techniques in preparing a world-class pitch. Among his notable works, his method of selecting the type of soil for curating a pitch assisted both the batters and bowlers alike, he often used red soil and black clay in a bid to provide equal opportunities for the players to showcase their varied skills during a match.

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Besides, he also focussed on having a multi-layered pitch to ensure even bounce and pace got generated off the pitch. As a result, in the case of rainy days, the kind of surface helped in saving time when it comes to the drainage aspect. Furthermore, K Parthasarathy also took into account, the factors which affect pitch preparations like the role of temperature and humidity. Last but not least, he also showed his expertise in choosing the right kind of grass for a surface and their apt growth which eventually resulted in a closely contested international games.