Jacintha Kalyan creates history as she becomes India’s first female curator and is all set for an exciting WPL season ahead. Excitement is in the air with the 2nd edition of the Women’s Premier League just around the corner, be it the fans, the players, and everyone involved in ensuring the smooth conduct of the tournament.
Much like the inaugural edition of the tournament, the upcoming 2nd edition of the tournament is all set to create some history as Jacintha Kalyan is all set to become the first female curator to prepare the pitches during the upcoming edition of the WPL that will commence on 23rd February 2023 and conclude on 17th March 2024.
Jacintha Kalyan, the first female curator from India, has been serving at Chinnaswamy Stadium. She shares her inspiring journey in a video released by the Women’s Premier League (WPL) social media handle, unfazed by comments about being the sole woman in her role, she remains focused on her task.
Previously, she worked in the administrative section but transitioned to curatorship. Driven by her passion, she perseveres through long days, standing under the scorching sun, immersing herself in the work from dawn till late evening. During matches, she spends most of her time on the pitches, diligently observing and learning.
“I’m very happy to prepare the pitches for women’s cricket, that too we thought that last year they started the WPL and played in Mumbai and I asked our chief curator also that I’ll go and prepare that, then he said, don’t worry next year they’ll play in Bangalore only, you can prepare it then. That is true now, I’m proud to prepare the pitches for the WPL,” she expresses her excitement about preparing pitches for the upcoming edition of the WPL.
The first half of the tournament will be played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore and the 2nd half of the tournament, including the eliminator, and the final will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Jacintha Kalyan, the first female curator in India will prepare the pitches for the Bangalore leg of the tournament. In the year 2018, she cleared the BCCI curatorship exam. She developed her own interest in preparing pitches.
“This is actually very challenging, with back-to-back matches every day, with 11 matches across four pitches. We have to prepare the pitches after the game for a day match because in the morning we can’t give the moisture, and we can’t do the rolling, in the late night, around 12-1 AM we have to prepare and go for the next day match,” Jacintha Kalyan speaks about the challenges.
The inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League was a blockbuster success and all the matches were played in Mumbai at the DY Patil Stadium and the Brabourne Stadium. However, this time around, the matches will be played in a couple of cities at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore and at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. We are just a couple of days away from the 2nd edition of the tournament. The finalists of the inaugural edition Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals will kickstart the new season on 23rd February 2024.
