Former Kolkata Knight Riders and Bengal player Shreevats Goswami has shared his thoughts on the controversy surrounding pitch preparation at Eden Gardens in IPL 2025. Goswami pointed out that it's a long-standing issue at Eden Gardens, as pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee doesn't listen to the home team.
Sujan Mukherjee has been in the spotlight on social media following his recent remarks about pitch preparation at Eden Gardens. Mukherjee had stated that he does not consider inputs from Kolkata Knight Riders when preparing the surface. However, he curates the pitch based on BCCI guidelines in IPL 2025.
KKR Captain Ajinkya Rahane Publicly Criticized Sujan Mukherjee
KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane and the team management had requested a spin-friendly wicket to assist their bowlers. However, Mukherjee prepared a flat track for their opening match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2025.
The lack of turn at Eden Gardens didn’t help key spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy. The duo struggled to make an impact, returning combined figures of 2-70 in eight overs as RCB comfortably chased down 175 in just 16.2 overs.
The Knight Riders faced a similar issue regarding pitch conditions during the 2023 IPL season. Former captain Nitish Rana, who led the team in Shreyas Iyer's absence, voiced his frustration over the lack of home advantage, stating that other teams benefited from familiar conditions, unlike KKR in 2023.
Nothing New with the Eden Gardens Pitch Curator - Shreevats Goswami
Shreevats Goswami, who played for Bengal for over a decade, shared that the curator rarely accepted the team's requests for specific pitches to gain a home advantage. He mentioned that sometimes they weren’t even allowed to train properly, with excuses like preserving the grass.
"Nothing new with the Eden garden pitch curator not listening to the home captain. Having played for Bengal for over a decade, have been witness to this from close quarters. As a home team, we would ask for a certain pitch to take the home advantage, but would seldom get it. In fact, the curator wouldn’t even let us train in the Eden garden, run rounds cause apparently the “grass would get spoiled” (maat kharab hue jabe)," Shreevats Goswami wrote.
"On the other hand, I would see my counterpart Karnataka players running around in the Chinnaswamy Stadium! Also, we as a team would often train at the Red Road cause Eden Garden was the curator's den!!" he added.
Give the Home Team the Pitch They Want - Shreevats Goswami
Goswami questioned why there even needs to be discussions between the captain and the curator. He added that the home team should automatically get the surface they want. He also recalled Nitish Rana making similar complaints.
"Also, why should there be an adda session with a 'pitch curator' & a 'captain '? It's a no-brainer - give the home team what they want without any question. Remember last year as well, Nitish Rana in a post-match interview complained about the same, saying, except KKR, every team has a home advantage."
Also read: Shocking U-turn! Kolkata Curator Sujan Mukherjee blames Ajinkya Rahane & KKR management after criticism
Shreevats Goswami, Virat Kohli's friend, exposes Eden Gardens curator after Ajinkya Rahane's comments
Published - 28 Mar 2025, 11:59 AM | Updated - 28 Mar 2025, 12:15 PM
Former Kolkata Knight Riders and Bengal player Shreevats Goswami has shared his thoughts on the controversy surrounding pitch preparation at Eden Gardens in IPL 2025. Goswami pointed out that it's a long-standing issue at Eden Gardens, as pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee doesn't listen to the home team.
Sujan Mukherjee has been in the spotlight on social media following his recent remarks about pitch preparation at Eden Gardens. Mukherjee had stated that he does not consider inputs from Kolkata Knight Riders when preparing the surface. However, he curates the pitch based on BCCI guidelines in IPL 2025.
KKR Captain Ajinkya Rahane Publicly Criticized Sujan Mukherjee
KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane and the team management had requested a spin-friendly wicket to assist their bowlers. However, Mukherjee prepared a flat track for their opening match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2025.
The lack of turn at Eden Gardens didn’t help key spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy. The duo struggled to make an impact, returning combined figures of 2-70 in eight overs as RCB comfortably chased down 175 in just 16.2 overs.
The Knight Riders faced a similar issue regarding pitch conditions during the 2023 IPL season. Former captain Nitish Rana, who led the team in Shreyas Iyer's absence, voiced his frustration over the lack of home advantage, stating that other teams benefited from familiar conditions, unlike KKR in 2023.
Nothing New with the Eden Gardens Pitch Curator - Shreevats Goswami
Shreevats Goswami, who played for Bengal for over a decade, shared that the curator rarely accepted the team's requests for specific pitches to gain a home advantage. He mentioned that sometimes they weren’t even allowed to train properly, with excuses like preserving the grass.
"Nothing new with the Eden garden pitch curator not listening to the home captain. Having played for Bengal for over a decade, have been witness to this from close quarters. As a home team, we would ask for a certain pitch to take the home advantage, but would seldom get it. In fact, the curator wouldn’t even let us train in the Eden garden, run rounds cause apparently the “grass would get spoiled” (maat kharab hue jabe)," Shreevats Goswami wrote.
"On the other hand, I would see my counterpart Karnataka players running around in the Chinnaswamy Stadium! Also, we as a team would often train at the Red Road cause Eden Garden was the curator's den!!" he added.
Give the Home Team the Pitch They Want - Shreevats Goswami
Goswami questioned why there even needs to be discussions between the captain and the curator. He added that the home team should automatically get the surface they want. He also recalled Nitish Rana making similar complaints.
"Also, why should there be an adda session with a 'pitch curator' & a 'captain '? It's a no-brainer - give the home team what they want without any question. Remember last year as well, Nitish Rana in a post-match interview complained about the same, saying, except KKR, every team has a home advantage."
Also read: Shocking U-turn! Kolkata Curator Sujan Mukherjee blames Ajinkya Rahane & KKR management after criticism
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Shreevats Goswami Sujan Mukherjee Ajinkya Rahane Kolkata Knight Riders IPLAbout the Author
Sai Vaitla is an author at Cricketaddictor and he has been working since September 2022. Sai Vaitla... Read more