Hyderabad cricket gets its first woman curator

Seeing her love for the curator’s job, former Indian captain Purnima Rau and Archana, proposed Praneesha’ name to HCA whose president Jagan Mohan Rao and Devraj took her into the fold in January

Hyderabad: Praneesha Gorentla made history in the annals of the Hyderabad Cricket Association when she became the first woman curator. She was given the official letter as an assistant curator by HCA secretary R Devraj. “It is a huge boost to my career as I want to be a certified curator of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI),’’ said 29-year-old Praneesha. In India there are now only two BCCI women curators – one from Karnataka and other from Vidarbha.

Starting her career as an all-rounder, Praneesha represented the Hyderabad senior team. “I was an opening bat and opening bowler before injury to her ankle cut short my career as a cricketer,’’ said Praneesha who once scored 52 off 32 balls against Tamil Nadu in an under-19 cricket tournament.

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Though the injury broke her heart, it did not stop her passion for the game. “The injury in 2017 was a setback of sorts. I had to take a break from the game. This was the time when my father (Vincent Vijay) was transferred to Warangal. As injury stopped me from playing the game, I took interest in becoming a curator as I thought it was an interesting subject. I was aware that a very few women have ventured to become a curator. I began to look for online and found that Mumbai Cricket Association had a website where I could learn about art of making wickets.’”

Encouraged by her father, Praneesha took land for a lease in Karunapuram to start a turf wicket ground in Warangal. “It was a big challenge. There were hardly any turf wickets in Warangal and I wanted the district boys/girls to play on these types of wickets before playing on turf wickets in Hyderabad. It was a struggle initially as I had to find the right mix for a good wicket. A few matches were also played but unfortunately the Covid in 2019-20 shattered my plans. It was a big blow and I suffered loss too.’’

With her parents, who are Central Government employees, again transferred back to Hyderabad, Praneesha approached the HCA officials to be part of the ground staff this year. Seeing her love for the curator’s job, former Indian captain Purnima Rau and Archana, proposed Praneesha’ name to HCA whose president Jagan Mohan Rao and Devraj took her into the fold in January this year. “I was lucky to have an experienced curator like YL Chandrasekhar. I’m learning the intricacies of making the wickets and about the outfield,’’ said Praneesha, whose first big experience was during the India-England first Test at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. She was prominently seen during the IPL matches. “She has a lot of interest and I like her attitude for hard work,’’ said Jagan Mohan Rao.