Delhi: A round of controversies has started in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025), and in such a situation, the title winning team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane and Eden Gardens Pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee have come face to face. Rahane demanded a spin-friendly pitch against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the inaugural match of the 18th season of IPL, which was rejected by Sujan. Rahane then expressed his disappointment about the pitch, and Sujan criticized his behavior in an interview, which further increased the dispute. After criticism, now Sujan has taken a U-turn from his statement.
Sujan Mukherjee’s statement
Pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee said in an interview that there is no interference in preparing the pitch of franchises. He clarified, “According to the IPL rules, no team’s opinion about the pitch, since I took over, has not changed the pitches of the Eden Gardens, and the same will remain the same.”
He also said, “RCB spinners took four wickets, while what KKR spinners could do? Krunal Pandya took three wickets, Suyash Sharma also got a turn and harassed Andre Russell.”
Sujan’s U-turn and cleanliness
After criticism, Sujan, while withdrawing from his statement, said that KKR had never made any special request to him about the pitch. He said, “No officer or player had made any demand for the pitch. Only one coach had asked about the behavior of the pitch during the practice, and I told that the spin will be found on the pitch and it would be good for batting too.”
Sujan also said that he has always prepared the pitch as per BCCI guidelines and has good relations with KKR.
Rahane expressed unhappiness about the pitch
KKR suffered a crushing defeat against RCB in the first match of IPL 2025. After this, Rahane said in the press conference that he expected the spinners to get more help from the Eden Gardens pitch. He said, “We wanted the pitch to be suited to spinners, but for the last few days it was inside the covers. We have good spinners who can bowl on any wicket, but we expected that this pitch would help the spin more.”
In such a situation, the big question is that if this tension between Rahane and the pitch curator persists for a long time, will KKR have to face difficulties in the upcoming matches on their own home ground?
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(Tagstotranslate) Ajinkya Rahane (T) IPL 2025 (T) Kolkata Knight Riders