KKR unhappy with pitch but Eden curator says, ‘IPL is not played on home advantage’

However, Eden Gardens pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee told The Indian Express that he is not bound to produce wickets as per the directions of the home team.

“IPL is not played on home advantage, and the captain may say anything he wants,” Mukherjee said. “Does IPL have a clause where it is written that pitches have to be produced according to the wishes of the IPL franchise?”

Historically, Kolkata Knight Riders team has been heavily dependent on slow bowlers getting enough assistance from the Eden Gardens pitch. Their champion sides of 2012 and 2014 had a significant spin component. Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan and Piyush Chawla were the chief architects of their victories as they bowled out teams for scores around 140-160, which their batsmen would then chase down. Hence, KKR must have been hoping for the same this time also.

However, it has all changed of late. The track at Eden Gardens is now known to be flat and full of runs in the IPL and in domestic cricket, it helps pacers with its greenish tinge.

In Ranji Trophy, the pitch at the iconic venue has tended to assist fast bowlers in recent years. A green-top was also offered for the Bengal-Saurashtra Ranji Trophy summit clash last season. Pace bowling has been Bengal’s main strength, with the troika of Akash Deep, Ishan Porel and Mukesh Kumar accounting for the most wickets last season. “At Eden, the surface assists fast bowlers,” Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary had told The Indian Express before the final.

According to Mukherjee, changing the nature of the surface for a two-month tournament like IPL is not conducive. “There are a lot of problems which I cannot talk about, and changing the pitch for KKR is not easy,” said the pitch curator.

“Look at other IPL teams, like RCB and DC; they do not talk or complain about home advantage. They play on what is provided to them,” Mukherjee added. CAB officials declined to comment.

The KKR management, though, is miffed with this attitude. A couple of officials from the team told The Indian Express that they would have liked to play on a slowish surface. After all, their spinners have been the leading wicket-takers this season. Varun Chakravarthy has picked 19 wickets, while Suyash Sharma ( 10) and Narine have also chipped in with useful wickets. At Chepauk, they showed what they could do when provided with a conducive track as they restricted CSK to 144 and then won the match.

The same advantage is lacking at home and is not likely to change anytime soon, and it is the team that is ending up disappointed.