End of an innings; Hingnikar quits as BCB chief curator

Challenges are a way of life for this never-say-die sportsman! Overcoming grief and terrible setbacks, former Vidarbha Ranji Captain, Pravin Hingnikar has quit his job as chief curator of Bangladesh Cricket Board and now looks forward to focussing on his own cricket academy here.

The all-rounder, known for his feats with the bat and ball alike, had been involved in a frightening accident on the Samruddhi Expressway in Buldhana District just a few months ago on April 19 in which he lost his wife and was badly injured. The accident occurred at Kalayana village in Mehkar taluka when Hingnikar (65), a former Vidarbha Cricket Association's pitch curator, was returning to Nagpur from Pune with his better half. The car he was driving had rammed into a truck on the Expressway.

A badly injured and emotionally shattered Hingnikar was admitted to a hospital here and is still undergoing treatment. Talking to Lokmat Times, Hingnikar said that he decided to quit his job as BCB chief curator and informed the Bangladesh Board authorities about his decision, mid-June. Hingnikar was appointed as chief curator of BCB in 2018 and was on the international assignment till the mishap occurred. "In June I decided to quit the job. The BCB authorities were gracious and wanted me to take another six months to decide, but I turned the offer down. Cricket has been everything to me and I will now concentrate on the functioning of my own academy here," he said.

The ace cricketer turned curator, who prepared wickets in Bangladesh for six Test matches, seven T-20 International matches and nine ODIs apart from around fifty T-20 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) matches over a five year period, was well paid and quite satisfied with the cards fate had dealt him. "My experience with BCB was very good. They had given me a free hand and for that I am thankful to Chief Executive Officer, Nizam Uddin Choudhury, BCB Director and Chairman of BCB Grounds, Mehbubul Anam and National Manager (Grounds and Facilities), Syed Abdul Baten," he said. They had asked Hingnikar to take another six months to recuperate and rejoin but he declined. "They were gracious but it would not have been fair so I politely refused their offer," he said, as he struggled to overcome his sorrow.

Hingnikar admitted that he was yet to fully recover and physiotherapy was still on but said he had made his decision. "It will take another six to eight months of physiotherapy and exercise for the body to recover," he said, adding that he had decided to move on and work for his cricket academy here. "I have decided to stay in Nagpur," he said.

Prior to the Bangladesh assignment, Hingnikar used to look after the VCA Jamtha wicket and had garnered praise from many current and former cricketers for his work. He was replaced by Amar Karlekar. Subsequently, the ICC had rated Jamtha wicket 'poor' when India played South Africa in a Test match in 2015 which ended within three days. Hingnikar was recalled and took charge in 2017 but later shifted to Bangladesh when the BCB approached him. Hingnikar, in his fine cricket career, was regarded as an all-rounder and played 52 first-class and 17 List-A matches for Vidarbha between 1983 and 1996.