Sourav Ganguly spoke out after India Today's sting operation on the Pune pitch curator this morning.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly reacted to India Today's sting operation on the Pune pitch curator, hours before the second ODI between India and New Zealand.
Pune pitch curator Pandurang Salgaoncar has now been caught on India Today's camera agreeing to manipulate some bounce, some movement and some balance between bat and ball for the Wednesday ODI at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) stadium.
In what was a savage blow to the ICC and the BCCI's stiff codes on corruption and on restrictions over outsider access to the field before matches, Salgaoncar not only accompanied India Today's undercover reporters to the Pune pitch but also allowed them to tap it.
Maharashtra Cricket Association president Abhay Apte and BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary have already promised strong action following the sting and Ganguly, also president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, wondered if there was any way to stop anyone from visiting the pitch in India.
"I am watching this on TV. I really don't know what Salgaonkar is trying to say. I don't think there is any way of stopping people from reaching the pitch. That is an issue in Indian cricket.
"(At this point) I don't have much to say on this as I really don't know what he was trying to do. I don't know how he can tweak the pitch in one day and prepare it accordingly for a bookie.
"I don't know in what context he was saying this was he saying this in haste. Let me go through the matter first," he said.
"If Pandurang Salgaonkar has done something he should be punished. But it should not hamper the progress of the cricket match. The curator needs to be taken off. At the end of the day the cricketers have not done anything, the match officials have not done anything. I don't see a problem in the game going on.
"CK Khanna is the president of the BCCI and he has the right give his opinion, whether it is right or wrong is another issue. It is important to take control of the situation. I personally feel the match should go on.
"I don't know whether its been going on for a while. BCCI has had all the securities but at the end of the day they cannot look into everything. You can have 15 cameras after one person but if he wants to do something wrong he will find out a way to do it.
"Anti corruption of the ICC and BCCI has everybody connected. When an international match happens everybody comes under the purview.
"No system is fool proof and things happen. Just to fire the BCCI for what Pandurang Ssalgaonkar has done is not correct. You cannot only control it to a certain extent," Ganguly said.
"This has to go till the end and an investigation must take place. But the game must go on. The match hasn't started and the pitch will be same for both teams, so I don't think it will be a problem," he added.
