New Delhi: Mohan Singh, the chief pitch curator of the Abu Dhabi Cricket Stadium, passed away on Sunday. He died a few hours ahead of the T20 World Cup match between Afghanistan and New Zealand. UAE Cricket sources confirmed this unfortunate news to news agency PTI. The cause of his death, however, is not yet known. A detailed statement in this regard is expected to be issued soon.
“It happened today and full details will be revealed when things are more clear. It is very unfortunate,” a source told PTI.
Mohan worked extensively with former BCCI chief curator Daljit Singh in Mohali before moving to the UAE in the early 2000s.
Daljit, who served Indian cricket for 22 years, was shocked after learning about Mohan’s demise.
“He was a bright kid when he came to me. A very talented and hardworking person. He hailed from Garhwal and also remember him as a family man.
“After he went to the UAE, he used to come visit every time he was in the country but I had not seen him for a while. Gone too soon and it is really tragic,” Daljit told PTI.
Talking about the Afg vs NZ T20 World Cup match, New Zealand defeated Afghanistan by 8 wickets to make it to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. After New Zealand's resounding win over Afghanistan, team India's hope of reaching the semi-finals has ended. After Pakistan, New Zealand are now second team from Group 2 to enter the semi-finals. The four teams that have reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup are England, Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan.
Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi won the toss and decided to bat first. Najibullah Zadran's fiery fifty propelled Afghanistan to 124/8 in 20 overs. Chasing the target, New Zealand attained win inside 18.1 overs after losing just 2 wickets.
(With Inputs From News Agency PTI)