According to reports, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has sent a letter to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asking that famous commentators Simon Doull and Harsha Bhogle be barred from covering any IPL 2025 matches at Eden Gardens for the rest of the season. This comes after the pair publicly criticised Sujan Mukherjee, the pitch curator at Eden Gardens.
Bhogle and Doull’s comments regarding Eden Gardens’ pitch conditions and curator Mukherjee’s involvement in their preparation set off the debate. Mukherjee ignored the home team, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), when they requested spin-friendly tracks to aid their bowlers, such as Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, and instead followed the BCCI’s rules for pitch preparation. Doull went on to say that KKR should think about leaving Kolkata entirely if the curator continued to be uncooperative.
CAB, however, did not view the remark favourably and thought Mukherjee had been unfairly singled out.
According to association sources, Mukherjee has just been abiding by the Board of Control for Cricket in India rule book, which makes it abundantly evident that the host association and the venue curator selected by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, not the franchises or commentators, are responsible for pitch and ground preparation. The criticism directed at Mukherjee was addressed by him.
“What Simon Doull and Harsha Bhogle said doesn’t need to concern me. In an interview with RevSportz, he stated, “What matters to me is what the spectators and my association say about the wicket.”
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India holds me responsible for creating a proper sporting wicket. According to the BCCI guidelines, it is explicitly stated that the chief curator of the host association, working under the direction of the venue curator appointed by the BCCI, is responsible for the pitch and ground preparation for all IPL regular season matches.
They will also be the only ones who can choose which practice and match pitches to use, just like in India for first-class matches. Additionally, the players and franchises are not allowed to participate in the wicket preparation process. The chief curator of the BCCI is available to offer any necessary guidance and can step in if a problem emerges,” he continued.
Notably, neither Bhogle nor Doull will be on the commentary panel for Monday’s KKR vs. Gujarat Titans game, despite the BCCI having not yet formally replied to CAB’s letter. It is yet unclear if the two commentators would take the mic again for upcoming games at the legendary Eden Gardens, which will also host the Qualifier 2 on May 23 and the IPL final on May 25.
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