Amid complaints against home pitch curators from the captains and coaches of several Indian Premier League (IPL) teams, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to ban Harsha Bhogle and Simon Doull from commentating on matches at the Eden Gardens. The request from CAB came after Doull and Bhogle suggested the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) move out of the city over the home curator’s lack of support in preparing pitches as per the franchise’s demands.
As per a report in RevSportz, the state association has submitted a strongly worded letter to the BCCI, urging them to bar commentators Harsha Bhogle and/or Simon Doull from commentating on any of the matches at Eden Gardens in the ongoing IPL season.
In a chat on Cricbuzz, Doull had suggested the Ajinkya Rahane-led franchise should find a new home ground if the lack of cooperation from the Eden Gardens curator continues.
“If he’s (the curator) 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 had said.’
Harsha Bhogle had also echoed his sentiments. “If they are playing at home, (they) should get the tracks that they think are suited for their bowlers. I saw something (about) what the KKR curator has said,” he had said.
The CAB, however, sided with the curator Mukherjee on the subject, suggesting he has done nothing wrong and is only following the BCCI rule book, which states that no franchise can dictate the nature of the pitch to be prepared at a venue.
KKR skipper Rahane had famously asked Mukherjee to prepare a more spin-friendly wicket that helps the franchise’s stars like Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine but the wicket has often turned out to be more pace-friendly, promoting high-scoring contests.
CAB is of the opinion that the curator has followed the guidelines about how the wicket should be prepared.
Though no official response has come from the BCCI yet, as per the report, neither Harsha Bhogle nor Simon Doull is expected to commentate on the IPL match at Eden Gardens on Monday as hosts KKR take on the Gujarat Titans.
It also has to be noted that the final of the IPL 2025 is also scheduled to be held at the Eden Gardens on May 25.