Eden Gardens curator refused to heed to KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane's plea for spin-friendly pitches.
Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull has suggested that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise is paying for the facilities at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata for the IPL 2025 and should get the pitches as they want, or else they should move away from the venue.
This comes after KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane appealed to the curator to make pitches more spin friendly to aid the team to get the most of the home advantage in the IPL. KKR was beaten by RCB in the IPL 2025 opening match by 7 wickets, leading to Rahane’s plea.
However, curator Sujan Mukherjee made it clear that there would not be any changes to the nature of the pitch going forward. He stated that as per IPL rules, franchises don’t have a say in pitches and as long as he was there, the surfaces won’t change.
Simon Doull recommended the KKR franchise to leave Kolkata if the crisis persisted. Doull noted that KKR pays the stadium fees and, as the home team, should have a role in how the surface is prepared.
"If he's not taking heed of what the home team wants... I mean, they are paying the stadium fees, they are paying for what's going on in the IPL but if he's still not paying heed of what the home team wants, then just move the franchise away to somewhere else. His job is not to pass an opinion on the game. That's not what he's paid for," Doull said on Cricbuzz.
During the conversation, experienced analyst Harsha Bhogle stated that skipper Ajinkya Rahane prefers a pitch that helps spinners, which should be regarded by the pitch curator. Bhogle added that he was unhappy with what the Eden Gardens pitch curator said.
"RR, if they are playing at home, should get the tracks that they think are suited for their bowlers. So too with KKR. I saw something what the KKR curator has said. If I'm in the KKR camp, I'm extremely unhappy with what he said because I'm not asking for a 120 surface. I'm just saying, give me a surface where my bowlers can win matches.
To say, 'sorry, we don't prepare pitches like that...' No. We are not asking you to make a 120 pitch, we are not asking you to make a 240 pitch. But I think home advantage in a tournament like the IPL is absolutely legitimate. That will enhance the tournament because winning away becomes crucial then," Bhogle said in a Cricbuzz show.